


Like the Tide

by WatcheroftheHearts



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatcheroftheHearts/pseuds/WatcheroftheHearts
Summary: Just because there's a  happy ending, doesn't mean that it's the end. There's still more adventures to be had, and more horizons to cross.Action, adventure, drama, and love! Life can just never be simple.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> At first, this was going to be just a quick one-shot. Short and sweet. But then it kept growing and I kept getting ideas! In fact, this is the THIRD idea I had. Two of them will actually feature as unrelated one-shots. But still, even the plot for this chapter is nothing close to what I originally had. I may keep some of the smaller themes, I may combine them all into one, or I may scrap them. It's just crazy how I’ve gone for years without being able to write anything and one adorable movie has got the ideas flowing all over again! 
> 
> Also, I'm going to pull a Disney here; I've done a lot of research on the legends and Polynesian life and etc, and I definitely want to use some of it, but I'm going to pull a Disney, take the truth or original legends, and bend them just a bit for the purpose of the story.
> 
> That being said, this is going to be a bit of a slow build. Rome wasn't built in a day after all! 
> 
> Im honestly nervous to post this.. it's been so long since I've really written anything. I sincerely hope that you all enjoy it.

It had taken him 3 days to begin to miss her.

Funny how it took a small curly haired not-princess to bring him out of his seclusion and actually desire human contact. He told himself that it would pass; that after centuries of being alone he'd gotten used to having company again but that it would pass and he'd be fine.

It took another 3 days for him to realize how wrong he'd been.

Friendship certainly hadn’t come easily to him in his few thousand years on this earth, and yet here was this tiny mortal with a heart so big and a spirit so bright and she’d broken down all the walls he’d built around himself in but a few short weeks.

He found her easily enough in his hawk form, his wings cutting through the air quickly. He followed her for half the day, watching as she moved back and forth across her canoe, and his chest swelled with pride as she deftly tied knots just as he'd taught her. His memory floated back to an earlier time when they were still just getting to know one another.

_She’d certainly won some points in saving him from a near certain death by crab; and even more points in their rather impressive escape from small coconut pirates. He’d begun teaching her some of the basics, against his will initially. He’d been kneeling down to the rear of the canoe, steering them onward, all the while frowning in thought as he watched the back of Moana’s head as she struggled to tie a knot in the extra length of rope he’d thrown at her hours earlier._

_"So tell me something Curly. How is it you managed to make it all this way without knowing a lick about sailing?" It had thrown him off at her confession of being, as she called it, "Self-taught". It had taken him a moment to fit all the pieces together but he recognized the canoe and the sail and the name of her island. Her people had once been the best way finders out there. So how was it possible she didn't know anything? He chalked it up to perhaps in his years away the rules had changed; maybe royalty, or little girl royalty, was no longer allowed to sail._

_"Hey! I know some things, I managed to rescue you, didn’t I?" she said indignantly._

_"That was dumb luck, kid. And it’s sort of cheating when you’ve got the whole dang ocean on your side. But really, your people didn't teach you anything?" he watched as her face fell, her shoulders slumping with her confession_

_"My people don't sail at all anymore."_

_"Wha-?"_

_"We stopped... hundreds of years ago. Thousands even. They hid away our boats and locked away our heritage. I'm the first person to sail past the reef in ages." She said quietly._

_"...that's impossible. There is no way your ancestors would just stop."_

_“My grandmother told me the waters become too dangerous. It was safer for us to just stay on the island.”_

_His gaze flicked between her, the ocean, and that vacant-eyed chicken. The ocean raised up its crest again and nodded as if to tell him that yes, her story was true. Maui was silent for a while after that, contemplating the mess that he had inadvertently left behind._

He perched on the top of the mast without a sound, watching as she sat down for a small lunch, narrating to that cross-eyed chicken companion of hers all her dreams of how her return home would go.

“I’m sure Dad will flip when I tell him everything I’ve done! Maybe we should leave out the part about the giant crab?” HeiHei clucked softly, and Moana doubted for not the first time if he actually understood her or not.

"I wonder if Maui will ever come and visit Montunui"

"What’s the matter Princess, miss me that much already?" he called down to her. She spun around before looking up, her face splitting with a wide smile.

"Maui!"

"In the flesh" he jumped down to the deck, the canoe bobbing for a moment. He hadn't exactly been prepared for her to launch forward and slam into him in a hug. He stumbled back a step, clumsily patting her back.

"Missed you too, Curly." he pulled out of the hug just in time to stop a HeiHei from pecking his fishhook.

"Hey, drumstick! You're still alive." He glanced to Moana to find her smiling at him. Or rather...smirking at him.

"So... you decided to come after all?"

"Sure, can't let you steal all my glory. Besides, I've been away for thousands of years! It just wouldn't be fair to deprive the mortals of all this." he made of show of flexing his impressive muscles. Moana shook her head and rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Well, we've still got another couple of weeks of sailing. You sure you can hold out that long?" she asked.

"I think I can manage." The remainder of their voyage went by smoothly. They passed the time with playful banter and stories of Maui's many victories. They worked as one, gaining a further synchronicity with the more time that passed. They barely needed to share any words for it was as if one always knew what the other was thinking. They were but a day's sail away from Montunui when he finally saw her smile fall.

"You okay kid?"

"I just realized how long it’s been since I've been home. There's going to be so much to do."

"Eh, you'll kiss some babies, shake some hands, and tell some stories. What's so different?"

"I need to take my role as Chief."

"You've faced down a lava monster, head on I might add, if you can do that, you can do anything."

"Thanks, Maui." she smiled and turned her gaze back to the horizon, her home a just barely visible speck across the sea.

"So, is the great Maui ready to make his big debut back into society?" she teased.

"I think I'll let you have your 5 seconds of fame first kid." he bumped her with his arm

"Then I'll make my big Maui entrance." 

True to his word, they were but an hour away from her island when Maui bid her goodbye and took the form of a giant hawk before lifting away from the canoe. He wanted to give her some time to herself to gather her thoughts and prepare to make her return to her family. Moana just barely touched down on the beach when her parents came racing down the pathway, gathering her into a tight embrace. The rest of the village quickly became aware of her return and were already celebrating her obvious success as their island came back to life. Her parents released her and her mother ran a hand down the side of her head, taking in the sight of the daughter she feared had been lost to the sea only moments ago.

"You did it!"

"Well, I had some help."

"Help? From who?"

"I might have... had some help from the Gods. Or one God really. A demi-God?" she hadn’t been certain exactly how to explain to her parents or anyone for that matter how she'd quite literally grabbed Maui by the ear and harangued him into helping her. She wasn’t sure how to explain the friendship that had grown or the part about the Te Ka. That last part she was the most unsure about.

"A demi-God?" her father repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah... you might have heard of him. Maui?" she replied. As if he'd been waiting on cue, Maui let forth a great hawk cry and dove down to the earth, changing back into his human form with a flip. He swung his hook over his shoulder and…was he actually posing?!

"Mom? Dad? uh…everybody? I'd like you to meet... Maui. Shapeshifter, DemiGod of the wind and sea, hero to all, and.." she faded off as she felt him step up next to her.

"And friend to Moana Waialiki of Montunui, friend of the ocean, master way finder, hero to all." he smiled down to her and winked. The crowd stood in silence, staring openly at the pair before them.

Maui would never admit it, he'd give 10 hooks before he'd say it, but it was right then that he'd worried his fears were coming to life and that he was about to be cast out into the sea once again. What neither of them had expected was for the entire village to erupt into cheers and rush forward, to pat his back and shake his hand. He certainly hadn't expected to see Moana lifted up by the crowd and was even more surprised when a group of what must have been the village’s strongest men came to raise him from the sand as well. The procession carried up from the beach into the village, before stopping before the fale tele _._ They were gently placed by to the ground and Tui stepped forward, raising his hands to silence the excited crowd.

“My daughter has returned! And she brings with her, Maui, demigod of legend! We shall prepare a feast to celebrate, and they will regale us with the tale of their success.”

It was over a large and loud dinner in the _malae_ that Moana and Maui told the entire village the tale of their adventure. Seemingly as one mind once more they brushed over the more sensitive topics they had spoken of only in the privacy of their canoe on the quiet waters. He had apologized long ago for leaving her in that cave and apologized twice since his return for leaving her to face the fury of Te Ka alone. It was only when he went to apologize a third time that she pulled him by the ear, told him she had forgiven him the moment that he'd returned, and told him to stop beating himself up over it already. They embellished and rearranged details to make it seem as if after his hook had been broken the pair had retreated as a team and sat back in defeat. Maui had flown off to simply blow off some steam and look for safer ground while Moana's grandmother visited her. No one knew of the cruel words or the fight, no one except for them and the ocean.

The little children crept ever closer and by the end of the story Maui had one on each shoulder and several gathered in a circle around his feet. After a round of loud cheers and praise, parents came to take their children to bed, telling them to thank the large hero and Moana before ushering them away home. Maui turned around to find Chief Tui approaching him. Moana's father was a large and imposing man, but still, he stood at least half a foot shorter than Maui.

"You two must be exhausted. You are more than welcome to stay on our fair island for as long as you like, Great Maui."

"Just Maui, really" the demigod insisted. Moana couldn't help but smile; he truly had matured over the time of their adventure and it was something that wasn't lost on either of them.

"And thank you, Chief Tui, I would be honored."

"It's not much, but there's a bed and a comfortable pillow and privacy." Sina, Moana's mother, fell into step with her family and Maui. They lead him to the empty _faleo’o_ attached to their home.

"I'm sure it's perfect." he said.

"It's been a while since I've had a real bed or a real roof." he chuckled.

"Thank you for your generosity."

"For the man who helped to save the world? This seems such a small gift..."

"Trust me, it's more than enough." After bidding Moana and her family goodnight, Maui ducked into the _faleo’o_ and closed the _pola_ behind him.

“Well, what do you think little buddy? Not bad digs, huh? Think we could hang around here for a little while?” in response little Maui jumped up and down, kicking his feet and waving his hands with excitement before he ran up to the Mini-Moana and gave her a large hug.

“Yea.. we can stay.” Maui chuckled as he lay down to tuck in for the night.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

When Moana awoke the next morning, she found Maui sitting with her parents over a generous breakfast. Her mother placed a hand on the back of his head in a maternal manner while her other hand came down to grip his hand that was closest to her. Slowly his expression changed from sullen and guilty to light, as if a giant weight had been removed from his shoulders. He had told them the truth, the real truth, of what had happened out there on the sea.

“Well, I should go and let you all catch up. And thank you again, both of you.” He stood and strolled by Moana, nodding in greeting to her before heading back towards the fale.

"He is an honorable man." her father said

"You're not...mad?" Moana was shocked. Of all the people she’d expected her father to be at least a little bit angry at Maui for abandoning her… _twice_.

"It's hard to be mad at the man who helped to save my daughter and the world. He ran off of his emotions, and in the end, he followed them back again. And he owned up to his mistakes. You two are very alike; Both stubborn and prideful.”

 “Hmm…now who does that remind me of?” Sina teased her husband. He chuckled and leaned over to kiss the side of her head.

“It looks like he’s going to be staying with us for a little while at least.” Her mother turned to her then and paused a moment.

“We offered him your grandmother’s old place… we figured he might appreciate having more privacy that way, and space. He is very…large.” She laughed. Moana joined in her laughter, rolling her eyes slightly.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll really appreciate that. And with all of Grandma Tala’s stories, I’m sure she would have loved to have him as her guest of honor… it all works out in a way.”

“That it does my daughter. Speaking of things working out….”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well… it’s not my longest chapter, but its not my shortest. 
> 
> **fale : a traditional house of Samoa. Generally oval or round with wooden posts holding up a domed roof. There are no walls and the base is a skeleton frame. Tied together with rope made of coconut fibers (referred to as ‘afa).
> 
> **Fale tele : the big house. Usually round in shape, served as a meeting house for council and gatherings.
> 
> **Malae : a large grassy area in front of the fale tele, used for important interactions between visitors and hosts or for outdoor formal gatherings
> 
> **Afolau : longer fale like a stretched oval, used as a guest house or dwelling house.
> 
> **Faleo’o : small house. Long in shape. An addition to the main house at the back of the dwelling. Used for guests or resting from the heat after fishing
> 
> **Pola : the drop down blinds used to block out light and elements and used for privacy.
> 
> **Kafa : fine reed walls


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Fixed the couple of little errors, it should all be good now :)

Maui had almost forgotten how simple mortal life could be, and before he had realized it, he had fallen into a comfortable routine in the village of Montunui. He spent his days entertaining the children with stories, helping the men bring in fish or cut down trees, and of course, sailing with Moana. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he didn't feel like he had to prove himself or beg for love and admiration. He didn't feel like he had to perform daring feats to impress those surrounding him. He felt like he could just be, and for once, Maui didn't want to run. He didn't want to lose all of that. And he didn't want to lose the one best friend he'd had in centuries.

They’d been on the island for barely a week before she was begging him to go back to the ocean, to teach her everything he knew and more.

“You already know everything that I know, Curly. The rest comes with practice.” he teased her. 

“Perfect! Then let’s go practice.” She swung her oar over her shoulder and he had to duck to avoid being hit in the head as she turned around and headed towards the beach. It wasn't long after that, that they pulled the ships from their hidden cavern and taught all those who wanted to learn how to sail.

Her father was at first weary of attempting to navigate the seas; fears from his boyhood stood so prominently in his mind. He was bolstered by the bravery his daughter had shown and swallowed his pride from so long having forbidden such forays and stepped onto the canoe. After a first few clumsy attempts it all came back to him; as a boy he had learned how to sail out to the reef to fish as all boys had, but only once had he gone out past the reef to be met with devastation and loss; after that, he never returned to the sea. Watching father and daughter work together, Maui could definitely see where Moana had gotten it all from; the love of the sea, her stubbornness, and pride, her love of adventure. Her father had held those same dreams once, before having them dashed and locked away by fear. Now to see them both free upon the sea they loved, it warmed something in Maui’s old heart.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As time pressed on, Moana dove into her training to become chief. She was there for her village for guidance and advice, often coming up with creative and successful solutions for any problem that arose. Everyone would often praise Tui and Sina on their daughter and how much she had grown. But part of growing up and becoming Chief included the traditional tattoos as both a woman and a leader. She should have already begun her tattoos as the mark of a woman, but saving the world had been a more pressing matter. Of all things she had asked of him so far, Maui certainly had not expected her to ask him to sit with her while she took her ink. 

"I just need some support.. and who better than my best friend?" an indignant squeal came from her feet and she winced bashfully. 

"Sorry Pua, I meant human best friend... of course." That seemed to placate the little pig who snorted and gave a funny little nod before waddling off.

She'd nearly crushed Maui's hand while she received her tattoos. He smirked and teased her, coaxing smiles from her strained lips while he gently brushed away tears and sweat from her face. All of his tattoos had been gifted to him by the Gods, appearing on his skin with no more feeling than a slight tickle, like goosebumps rising on his flesh in a cool breeze. He truly could not relate to the pain she was enduring.

She tried to stay quiet at first, a brave warrior face in place as a mask on her features. In time the pain became too unbearable and she let out a groan of pain, her shoulders tensing up as the _Tufuga_ continued to hammer the ink into her flesh. Maui sighed with impatience. dabbing her face with a cool wet cloth. 

"C'mon kid, now you're just being stubborn." For hours now he'd been trying to convince he to take a break if only to relax for a few moments. But she insisted on continuing; her pride getting in the way. 

"-m fine" she argued through gritted teeth. His eyes drifted down her back and watched as the ink-soaked tip pierced her skin again and again. Maui sighed and sat back, chewing on his lip as he wracked his brain. She and tattoo master had gone back and forth for at least an hour, designing the pattern that would soon be inked into her skin. She had wanted something slightly different than the traditional _malu_ he’d presented her with at first; she wanted something more personal. It wouldn’t all be done in a day, it never was. The process would take weeks, months even. The biggest irritation for Moana would be actually following orders and sitting still while she healed after each session.

"If grown men can do this, then so can I." she grunted, ignoring the snorts of amusement from both Maui and the Tufuga.

"Except you're not a grown man. You're not even a grown woman. You're still a pipsqueak not-princess." Maui countered. 

"I am too grown." she said sternly, gritting her teeth as she looked up to him. At least, that was before letting out a squeal of pain as the needles hit a particularly sensitive area of skin. 

"Wow...ya know that was almost convincing?" Maui teasingly tugged on a curl of her hair.

Maui watched as she winced, crushing his hand once more. Swirling patterns began to make their way across her skin, strike by strike. The start of gentle waves and dancing flowers, a swirl signifying the heart of Te Fiti. She'd been inspired by the marks on Maui's skin; like his, she wanted her tattoos to tell a story. Within time, the skin from her hips down to her knees would be covered in intricate patterns of dark ink.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about the first time I met the Kakamora?" he asked. She shook her head, tilting her head to look at him. He smiled, hoping his plan to distract her would be a success. 

"Well, there I was, sitting on that disgusting pile of rocks-"

......

Several hours later, the Tufuga announced her finished for the day. He instructed her to go home and rest, to make sure to wash her skin with the salt water and again, to rest. He knew she'd most likely ignore him, but perhaps the burly friend of hers would get her to stay put. Although he doubted that one as well. 

Maui had to practically carry her out, watching her wince with every step. He wondered if it would hurt more to pick her up and carry her but figured she would never let him do that. Instead, he roped an arm behind her back, practically lifting her up anyway as she limped her way back home.

"You don't do anything by halves, do you pipsqueak?"

"You know me better than that." she quipped, trying to hide her wince as each step jostled her. He tried to walk as slowly and gently as he could up the path to her fala. It was nearly sunset by the time they had finished and having started at early that morning, dark circles had already formed under Moana's eyes. Sleep did not come for her though, and in the darkness of night, she slowly rose from her mat and slowly made her way down to the beach. It was as if the ocean had been waiting for her and she let out a sigh of relief as gentle cool tendrils of water made their way up her legs, caressing her skin with tender care. 

"Thanks, Ocean." Moana sighed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

With the more time that passed, the more that Maui became all too aware of the mortality of his newfound family. Of course, he'd been among mortals before, made friends with them, but he'd never stayed so long. He knew their time was limited while his was infinite. Hell, that was what had started the whole mess with Te Fiti to begin with! He'd had his own selfish reasons for stealing the heart besides just wanting to be praised and admired. But... he'd long since seen the truth of things; and the truth was that mortals were not meant to roam this world forever. He knew he had to leave before he got in too deep, became too attached. He stayed long enough to see Moana officially take her role as Chief, he was there as she took a large group of new way-finders to the ocean and they found a new island. He was there when they returned home to shuttle over all those who wished to expand life there. And after nearly one whole year on Montunui, that he told his best friend he had to leave.

"Are you sure you have to go?"

"Yeah...yeah." He said, not at all sounding like he was sure. "It's a great big world out there and I've got some Godly duties to attend to. Maybe pop by old Glitterclaws and say hello now that I've got full control of my hook again." he sighed. His eyes drifted to the inked depiction of his hook that now sat on her hip, the hips that only months ago he could have sworn weren't there. He wore her likeness on his chest with pride, but he'd never imagined that she'd mark herself permanently with anything relating to him; yet now there it sat, laying along her right left hip, the handle pointing towards her back as if laying in wait for him to grab. _The hook of course, not her hip. Never her hip._ He tore his eyes away, looking down to the sand instead as if it had suddenly become extremely fascinating.

"You'll visit right?" he tried to ignore the way her voice sounded thick, the threat of tears in her eyes.

"Course I will. You haven't seen the last of old Maui." His chuckle died on hips lips. Truthfully he didn't know when he'd be back. He wanted to come back of course but... that would only make it that much harder in the end. In time she'd forgive him. She'd find herself so busy with all her chiefly duties she wouldn't have time to think back on old Maui, or at least that was the lie he told himself. 

She rushed forward and hugged him tightly. He realized then that her head, which used to just barely reach his shoulders, was now evenly there, her chin able to rest on his shoulder if she stood on her tiptoes. He hugged her back tightly, knowing that if he didn't leave now he would lose his nerve. Why was he leaving? He should stay. He fought off the traitorous thought again. He had been so torn for weeks now. But he couldn't stay, in the end, he could never stay. He'd known that long ago and ignored it; had stayed well past longer than he had ever expected to. He had to get out before he was in too deep. He knew where this road lead to, knew where he was headed; and he had to get out. It was what he did best after all, wasn't it? _Run away.. run run little Maui..._

"See you out there Maui." she whispered, her voice strained.

"See you out there Moana." he gave her a final squeeze and turned away. He shifted quickly into a giant hawk and took off, leaving the beach far behind him as he rushed away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is not the end!!!! Think of this as Act 1 in our tale. There is more to come. lots and lots more! I had hoped to have this chapter out a LOT sooner than this, but for some reason this chapter took a lot more time than I anticipated. It got reworked and shifted around quite a few times before I decided that some details were better off left for later. I'm still not entirely pleased with the pacing of this chapter, it feels too choppy, but that could also be because I am very hypercritical of my own work. Anyway... I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**
> 
>  
> 
> I may have taken certain liberties where the tattoos are concerned. I am sticking with calling them tattoos in this story, as opposed to "tatau"; the traditional name for them. I decided that since it is pronounced as "tattoo" in the movie, I may as well keep that going.
> 
> I did a good amount of research on the tattoos and boy did I find a lot of interesting information. Unfortunately, as with so many things, history isn’t all that clear or there are discrepancies as too often things weren’t well recorded. But I hope I did well enough.  
> I read somewhere as well that after the tattoo was finished there was a large celebration to celebrate this “coming of age” or new chapter in the person’s life. They would wear little to show off the new ink and family and friends would help them to prepare and to celebrate. However the tattoo process came with its own set of problems. Infection was all too common, and family would often help to wash the skin with seawater and helped to massage the skin so as to prevent infection. This was a lengthy painful process often taking from dawn to dusk and it could take as much as 4-6 months to complete! It was seen as a mark of pride and honor for your tribe, but those who could not endure the pain would wear an unfinished tattoo as a mark of shame.
> 
> Vocab used here or in future chapters:
> 
> Tufuga: tatau/tattoo master. 
> 
> Malu ; female version of the body art; usually only for those of ranking. Also a sign of puberty. Usually done by an apprentice, but generally, in the case of a high chief’s daughter an expert artist would do the work. Would cover hips and lower legs. Most other women would get smaller tattoos, on the lips and hands. This is where some of the information becomes unclear... some women were covered in tattoos, some only got minimal. 
> 
> Malofie tattoo given to men. Starts at waist and covers nearly every inch of skin to the knees
> 
> Lavalava: an article of clothing; it has changed over time. Worn as a skirt by both men and women. Secured around the waist by tying the corners of the cloth or rope. Women generally wore ankle length while men wore knee or mid-calf depending on the activity or occasion. Most lavalava was made with tapa cloth. Lavalava could also be made with flower petals, leaves, feathers or seashells and tied to a backing of plaited plant fibers. Those with tattoos would often roll the waistband and tuck in the sides and rear of the lavalava to expose tattoo.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all for reading, leaving kudos, and for the kind words you've said! I find myself still working through the many ideas for this story. But lately it just all flows so easily. I'm hoping to get a few more chapters out in these next few weeks! My office mate is on vacation until the end of the month, and with my work flow being slow I am able to type quite a bit during the workday without being asked what I am "Typing so furiously". 
> 
> That's enough outta me... onto the next chapter!

TWO YEARS LATER

  
  
Moana stormed out of the Fale Tele, Pua close at her heels.  
  
"Moana!" her father called after her, hurrying to catch up.  
  
"I want to be alone!"  
  
"This discussion is not over."  
  
"It is for me."  
  
"Be reasonable"  
  
"Reasonable?! _Reasonable!?_ " she turned around, staring her father down.  
  
"You tell me that I'm expected to marry some- some stranger and you are asking me to be reasonable?!"  
  
"I hardly think anyone here counts as a stranger.” He tried reasoning with her.

“You practically grew up with Fetu, and Rangi has always been kind to you."  
  
"He's been kind because I'm the Chief's daughter, and Fetu is...ughh. You know they named him after the God of the night for a good reason. He's so boring; every time he talks you want to fall asleep! And I would never marry either of them. I'm not ready to be married yet. I have too much to do still!"  
  
"Well, what about Wakaroa?" he pressed. Wakaroa wasn't... terrible. While growing up he was one of the children near her age that she got along with best. He was a couple of years older than she was, and was unfailingly kind and warm. He was large and muscular for even his young age, but for his size he was easygoing and the type of person that everyone loved. Many called him the village big brother and he lived up to it; always looking out for the youngest children as they ran around, always playful and kind but also protective.

Moana often found herself in wonder of his unfailing kindness and warmth; Poor Wakaroa; his mother had died when he was just a little boy. His father was absent after his mother's death, as if his very soul had died with her. He had snuck away in the middle of the night, leaving Wakaroa in the care of his grandmother. Some said he had risked going out past the reef, others said he threw himself from the highest cliff. Wakaroa never sought the answer. Yet despite the pain and loss that Wakaroa had experienced in his life, he never let it affect him. He was like the sunshine personified, bringing joy and warmth to all he encountered.

Moana admitted to herself that maybe once she did have a school girl crush on him. Most of the other girls had fawned over Afu and his charming smile and long dark locks, but he was also often rude and expected to get his way because of his looks. Whereas Wakaroa was like sunshine; warm and inviting.

"Ughhh Dad, _please_." she turned away again, making to walk away.  
  
"We've put this off long enough; it's time to grow up."  
  
"I think I did that when I faced down Te Ka!" she whipped around and shouted. It wasn't something she brought up often with her father, but every now and then she needed ammunition and that was about the biggest and best that she had.  
  
"I don't want to be married off to just anybody. I want it to be for me, when I'm ready, and with someone I love!" she could feel her eyes tearing up and turned from him then. Tui stood silently behind her for a moment.  
  
"I just don't want to see you wasting your life waiting for someone who isn't coming back." It was one of the cruelest things her father had ever said, even though she knew he meant it in the kindest way. He was looking out for her.  
  
"I-.. Its not that. I'm not waiting for him" Moana replied. _Damnit_.  
  
When Maui left she'd been sure that he would come back soon. For months she found herself going to the beach, staring out at the horizon, or on her canoe, eyes scanning the skies for a shadow of his hawk wings. Slowly she stopped looking; stopped thinking every shadow was him. Eventually she stopped hoping at all. If he came back, he came back, but she couldn't keep waiting. It was a convincing enough lie. By no means had she shut down; she had kept herself busy, maybe too busy even. She slowly came out of her sadness, returned to the bright happy Moana she'd always been and her smiles were real ones once more. There would always be a part of her, hidden away deep in her heart that hoped he would return. But she had a life to live and an island to lead. She threw herself into her work. At times she still found herself turning to joke with him, or wishing at the end of the day she could share a story with him about something that had happened that day. And now, with the pressing issue of marriage she'd been brought to think about him all over again.  
  
Of course she missed him, but she hadn't really thought of him the way her father implied. But the more that she was pushed to think about marriage, the more she couldn't help but think of him. It would make sense really... he was her best friend and closest confidant, besides Pua, and she certainly wasn't about to marry a pig. They had the same taste of adventure... _she really had to stop thinking about him._  
  
"I just want what you and Mom have."  
  
"Your mother and I were very lucky. You know that isn't always how it goes."  
  
"I know...Just please? Give me more time?"  
  
"I can't hold them off forever."  
  
"Can't I use my power as chief to override them?" she smirked to Tui. He chuckled, shaking his head.  
  
"You can certainly try! I know I did."

>>>>>>>

In her time back on the island Moana was approached by several of the village's young men. It had started with Makoa. He had approached her one day not long after her return, questioning her on how she had defeated Te Ka and if her story about Tamatoa was really true. That was Makoa for you, always the warrior, looking to one-up anyone who told a story, or looking for tips if someone impressed him enough. He was also a glutton for fame, trying to prove his strength and stamina. What he lacked in brains he made up for in brawn. He paled the day he saw Maui up close and when the Demigod glared at him for questioning Moana he balked and scurried off. He hadn't attempted to talk to her since. Now that the bulging man was gone, it seemed that he was back again.

But now that it had been so long since Maui had left, it seemed that even more were now trying to vie for her attention; whether on their own or by Tui's suggestion she wasn't sure.  
  
It was a warm day, barely a week after her argument with Tui, that found her on the beach repairing a tear in her sail. Afu slicked back his long dark hair and smirked, sauntering over to her. There had been many a young girl that fawned over Afu; he was tall and fit with flowing dark locks. Moana had had to hide a smirk the day she came across him asking Maui how he kept his hair so shiny and manageable. But the young man had never caught Moana's attention; she'd honestly never been impressed with him and compared him to a peacock strutting about. He leaned on the piece of driftwood she was sitting on, irritated when she didn't even acknowledge his appearance.

"So... Moana. How's it going?"

"Oh, hey Afu." she greeted him absently, her attention on the stitching of her sail.

"So, now that your friend is gone... how about you and me take a little walk on the beach later? I know this really great spot, really great."

"I don't think so." she said tersely, her shoulders tense.

"Come on, why not? You, me, sunset." he flicked his long hair back, flexing his muscles. She bit back the smirk at an old memory, though his physique could never compare.. _the hair, the bod._

"I'm busy, Afu."

"You're too difficult. Any girl around here would be falling over themselves at the chance to spend time with me."

"Maybe you should go catch one of them then." she gave her sail a yank and Afu, who hadn't realized he'd been standing on the free end, flipped onto his backside and landed in the sand. He looked up to see Moana walking away and never once looking back at him.

It was another week later that she was approached by Manuia. Manuia had always been the class clown, loud and obnoxious. He tried too hard to make friends, which left him with even fewer. He ran up to her one day as she carried a basket of coconuts from the newest grove.

"Hey! Moana! So... ya know its Toroa and Rua's birthday today!" he snatched three of the coconuts from her basket and began juggling them. The twins were turning 18, and as was custom there was to be a large celebration for them as they officially entered into adulthood.

"No, really? I thought I was just carrying down extra coconuts for the fun of it." she snapped back. It was a bit rude, yes. But this was the third time this week he'd approached her.

"Yeah!" he responded, clearly missing her sarcasm. "It's gonna be great! Lots of food and stuff, but I guess you already knew that, being chief and all. I was wondering if you might want to go to the celebration-"

"Oh! Look, they're calling me, so I gotta.. here, carry this to the Fale Tele for me?" she shoved the basket into his hands and ran off.

"But I didn't hear anything..." he said to no one.

She stormed down the hidden path to the flat rock she'd often dance on with her grandmother. Letting out an angry huff she dropped to her bottom, dangling her feet into the water. She sat there another moment and let out another frustrated sigh, crossing her arms and shaking her head. The water rose before her, its crest tilting in question.

"Can you believe them? Ugh. It just keeps getting worse! Seriously is every guy on the island going to try!?"

The water gave a short of shrug and another stream of water came up to gently caress her hand. She smirked, chuckling.

"Thanks, Ocean." she raised her hand, reaching out as if to pat the top of the crest. The ocean bent forward, and then unexpectedly twitched and fell into itself.

"What?" Moana blinked, confused. _What was that? Maybe someone was coming?_ She turned her head, looking behind her.

"Well...I do have to get going... see you." she stood slowly, looking back to the calm waves. She tried to shake the nudge of worry away and made her way through the bushes towards the celebration that would soon start.

>>>>>>>

Of all the young men that did approach her on the island, Wakaroa was the one person Moana didn't so much mind visits from. He never tried to use her role as Chief, or even as Hero, for his own benefit. He'd only cared that she was Moana, the same girl he'd gotten into trouble with as children when they'd tried to sneak her onto his canoe for a fishing trip, or when they chased the chickens through the village. In the absence of Maui he offered to sail with her, if she'd have him. When she asked why, when after all they hadn't really spoken in quite some time, he simply told her that no one should have to be alone.

Slowly they rebuilt a friendship. She found herself able to smile easily again, as if some of his sunlight was rubbing off on her, warming up the cold that had been left behind. A few too many times her father insinuated that something more was going on and she would always roll her eyes or brush him off. No, Wakaroa was a friend, only a friend, and that's how it would stay.

So what if he always smiled at her, or always walked her home if they'd been out on the seas late? And so what that more often than not they would spend some portion of their day together, whether it was over a meal or while working in the coconut groves? They were both lonely and needed a friend just as much as the other did.

Several of the other island boys still tried to gain her attention. Rangi and Manui were by far the worst. She always would politely brush them off, but Wakaroa never tried. He never pushed or even suggested anything past friendship. It was comfortable with him, and Moana appreciated it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
  
It had started just as slowly as it had the first time. Each fishing trip the men came back with less and less in their baskets. Moana instructed them to continuously rotate their locations, until eventually they were well out past the reef. But this couldn’t keep up forever, she knew. Until reports started coming in from Motu Iti and Aguja; the other two islands they had only just recently begun living on.  
  
“It’s a phase… it’s happened in the past.” She told herself. _Yes, when Te Fiti’s heart was still missing and Te Ka ruled the waters._  
  
All too soon, this problem seemed minuscule compared to what came. Dead fish began washing up on their shores, far too many for it to be coincidence. Her problems only mounted when villagers began to fall ill. The sickness had rolled through quickly, and came with an assortment of illnesses. Some spent days vomiting until they were so weak they couldn’t stand, others suffered from terrible fevers and itching. The worst were those who suffered paralysis and hallucinations. The elderly and children seemed to be hit the worst, their already weakened immune systems unable to cope. The Fale Tele soon turned into a quarantine house before it was realized that this sickness came not from something contagious, but from the very fish they relied on for food. The fear of the ocean began to return.  
  
“I have to do something!” Moana paced back and forth across the floor of her parent’s home. She’d long since moved into her Grandmother’s old fale. She'd missed her grandmother terribly, and with the absence of Maui as well, it was the one way she could feel close to them both.  
  
“There’s nothing you can do…” her father said softly.

“I can’t just sit here! I need to do something.”  
  
"No one eats the fish until I get back." She stated.  
  
"Get back? Where are you going?" Sina asked  
  
"To find help."  
  
"You cannot leave. You have duties here." Tui said  
  
"My duty is to my people!"  
  
"Which is exactly why you need to stay; for your people. Moana we've discussed this." Tui rose to his feet, pleading with his daughter. He trusted her on the seas more than anyone, but he didn’t want to see her rush out on a moment of impulsivity.  
  
"And I've decided... I'm going."  
  
It was a long shot, and she had about as much chance of succeeding as she had the first time she'd left alone. But this time she had more knowledge, she knew the ocean, and this time there wasn't a savage lava monster out to kill her. _Okay so maybe her chances were a bit better this time._

It was nearing sundown as she prepared to leave. She'd long since said her goodbyes to her parents and was seeing to the last minute details, ensuring she had enough food and supplies.

"You're going out there again, aren’t you?" She turned to see Wakaroa approaching. These days his face was more sullen, his grandmother had fallen ill and with each day that passed without a cure, his hope faded.

"I have to."

"I know..." he was so quiet lately, so withdrawn. His smile didn't reach his eyes as it once had.

"If anyone can save us, it's you" he sighed, trying to keep things light. He surprised her when he stepped forward and wrapped her in a gentle hug.

"I'll try." she smiled to him.

"Just be careful, yea?" he pressed his forehead to hers. It was brief, and she internally questioned why her heart skipped a beat when he did.

"I always am."

While she sailed away she questioned herself again as to her reaction to Wakaroa.

"He's just a friend... that's all. Why is it any different? I've known Wakaroa for years. He's just Wakaroa...” she turned to see the water cresting up, tilting at her as if to teasingly question if that's all he really was.

"Oh, don't you start too!"

Her first stop was to Motu Iti to check on the island there, and Kekino, the man who had been named Chief. She was met the the same grim news, dead fish, sick villagers. They had sent word to Aguja to warn them to avoid the fish until they were sure this was over. The same routine had been started as it had on Montunui; no one would eat the fish, they all had more than enough fruits and vegetables and livestock to fill their meals. She set off on her canoe once again, trying not to let the hopelessness set in. She felt even more alone than ever; she'd made sure Pua and HeiHei had stayed behind, and she hadn't even seen a hint of Maui cutting through the sky or sea. She stretched out on her side, tracing a hand through the water below. For a moment she almost considered sailing out to Motu Kao Kao, the name Maui had given to his old rock prison. But she knew she would find nothing there and threw the idea out  
  
"What can I do?" she asked miserably. The ocean gave no response and she sighed, rolling onto her back to gaze at the clouds above. She had planned to sail straight through the night, but around the afternoon she spotted a speck off to the distance. It took until dusk to reach the small island, and she slowly made her way onto the shore. She pulled her canoe onto the sand as much as she could and tied it off around a large tree, using knots that now came like second nature to her. The place seemed quiet enough; it would do for a rest stop for now. Hopefully she could find some wild coconuts or melons, anything to add to her stash of food. She wasn't low by any means, but it never hurt to have extra.  
  
>>>>  
  
Of all things Maui could have expected that day, he certainly had never expected to find a certain curly haired troublemaker walking along his shore. He'd just been heading towards the beach for a quick evening swim when he saw her. He stayed hidden among the leaves, taking her in. How long had it actually been since he'd last seen her? She was taller, and her hair was longer if that was at all possible. There were certain other features he certainly noticed and Mini Maui gave him a sharp kick for that.  
  
"Ow! Hey, don't act like you didn't notice!" he whispered to his inked companion. He had jumped when he'd been kicked and had stepped onto a fallen branch; the crack echoed and grabbed Moana’s attention. She turned his way and he could finally see her face clearly; same bright eyes, same round cheeks, but there was a new maturity there as well.  
  
"Maui?" she was stunned to see him. She hadn't expected to see him here

"Moana!" he smiled brightly to her. Mini Maui and Mini-Mo waved enthusiastically to her as they stepped towards one another.  
  
Maui's smile turned to a grimace and he let out a great howl of pain as Moana snatched his ear in her grasp and yanked him down the beach, out of the shadow of trees and into the golden sunlight.  
  
"Ow! Owowooww! That's attached to me you know!" he rubbed at his ear once she let him go. His eyes moved to her then; or more so to her glaring angry expression. He had sort of expected this.  
  
"I know… I know... you have every right to be angry."  
  
"Angry? _Angry?!_ Oh-ho I'm not angry; I'm pis-ughh!” She lashed out, hitting his massive bicep with a smack.

“How could you just stay away for so long!?" she growled. "I have half a mind to beat you over the head with my oar." she threatened.  
  
"Yea... well I'd really prefer it if you didn't Princess."  
  
"I waited for you. For a year Maui. You said you'd come back! And like a fool, I waited! And you never came." _So I gave up waiting_. She didn't need to speak it aloud...  
  
"I know. I'm...sorry." he glanced to her, his expression drowned in guilt and remorse. She stared at him another moment, feeling her resolve breaking at his sad countenance.

"I can't say that it's okay..." she sighed, her shoulder relaxing some.

"But I accept your apology." he nodded in relief, sighing.  
  
"What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked, glancing around for any sight of that crazy chicken or her pig companion. It was a fair distance from Montunui, and farther still from Aguja.  
  
"I needed to go for a sail, clear my head." She said stubbornly.  
  
"Kissing babies really have you that busy?" he teased, but the smile left his lips as he saw her miserable expression.  
  
"They want me to get married" _Why was that the thing she_ lead _with? Why was she sharing with him at all? She was still so angry! But…she'd always been able to be open with Maui._  
  
"I'm sorry; I must have sand in my ear, because I could have sworn that you just told me that you're getting married."  
  
"One day, yes... my parents and the village elders have been pushing the issue for a while now."  
  
"Aren't you a little young for that?" he questioned, crinkling his nose.  
  
"I'm almost 21 now Maui." the implication of how long he'd been gone didn't need to be said.  
  
"And you don't have a say in this?"  
  
"As chief it's my duty to carry on the line" she said automatically; he could tell it had been an ongoing battle for her. He really had missed a lot. She was a woman now, certain to have hundreds of weakling suitors lining up for her hand. _Why on earth did that thought make his blood begin to boil?_  
  
"And what? You don't like the guy?"  
  
"There isn't really a guy…yet."  
  
"Oh! Oh. Well then, no worries yet, right Curly?"  
  
"Not exactly." She glanced away from him, her eyes turning to the ocean.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That isn't the only reason I left. There's something else. Something is wrong."  
  
"Wrong?"  
  
"My people are getting sick, and the fish are dying. At first we were taking in less fish with every fishing trip. Then dead fish started washing up on our shores. We set out further to fish but…now the village is getting sick. Some cases are worse than others. It’s the worst for our elders. They've got fevers and they're delirious, they're sick to their stomachs, and nothing is helping.”  
  
"Ciguatera. I hadn't seen it in a while…I thought it was gone." Maui said. Honestly he sort of assumed it was gone after the heart had been replaced. He’d seen it before, long ago and knew how bad it could be.

"It's like everything around the islands is infected. I figured I would sail to Te Fiti to see if she could help when I found this island." she paused and looked around.  
  
"Hold on, what are _you_ doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Well I sure wasn't going to return to that crummy pile of rocks"  
  
"Oh...you live here?" she wasn't sure why that thought hadn't dawned on her. Surely Maui would have found somewhere else to live; he wasn't just roaming the skies all this time.  
  
"Now and then," he said non-noncommittally. "Look, it's getting dark and you need rest. I've got a hut back that way, there’s plenty of space. You're welcome to stay."  
  
"I thought way-finders didn't sleep?" she rebutted, using his old words against him.  
  
"They do if they've found a safe island and shelter, and have probably already skipped a week of sleep." he responded. Damnit, he knew her too well still. She'd taken to a few short naps here and there, but she had for the most part stayed awake throughout her voyage.  
  
"Fine, but just for the night." she said tersely.  
  
"Fine." he responded. He had hoped she would stop being so angry with him once she got some rest.  
  
"And then tomorrow, we sail to Te Fiti."  
  
"What do you mean we?" she questioned.  
  
"We, as in you and me, we two are sailing." he gestured between the pair of them, and on his chest Mini Maui jumped onto Mini-Moa's canoe and the pair waved to her. She looked at him for a moment before conceding, nodding her head. She'd had hundreds of imaginary conversations in her head of the day he'd return...but this was different from anything she had expected.  
  
"Fine. Lead on, oh Master way-finder." she waved out her hand in front of them, stepping aside to let him lead the way into the forest and to the home he'd built.  
  
Moana wasn't sure what she was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't this. Not that she doubted his abilities of course; he'd been around for so long he must have picked up some sort of building skills. But she was impressed with the structure she found before her. How long had it taken him to build this? It looked like the fales back home; slightly larger to fit his size, but similar otherwise. How much time had he spent weaving each individual curtain? Had he already had this built from long ago, long before he'd been banished to his island of rocks?  
  
"It's not much. But it's home. Or...ya know." he cleared his throat uncomfortably. Home...nothing had felt like home in a long time. Not since...

"Well, no one can be perfect." she teased him, rapping her knuckles against one of the supporting posts.

"But seriously kid, you look like hell. Did someone punch you in both of your eyes?” He gestured to the dark circles that had formed under her eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" he stared at her a moment before one of his classic goofy smiles stretched across his face.

"Oh shut up and make me something to eat, would you?" she laughed, giving him a playful shove. Just like that the anger and hurt was broken. The rift that had grown between them wasn't entirely fixed yet, but it was a start.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had recently come across a behind the scenes clip that told of how in the movie’s original storyline, Moana was supposed to have 9 brothers! There was really only one or two names I was able to find from that, the other brothers only had descriptions of their personalities. I sort of wanted to still honor that idea so I found some names I really liked, applied them to their personalities, and now we have our many many young men!
> 
> Also, Ciguatera is actually a true sickness, caused by a certain toxin. I’m sort of amping this one up for the sake of the story.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's the longest one so far. I wanted to sort of explore a bit the two years of Maui's absence and Moana's time on the island. I didn't want to spend too much time focused there but I wanted to make sure I tied in important details for later on in the story and fleshed out more of our characters.


	4. Chapter 4

In the past, when Maui and Moana weren’t having long, flowing conversations, they’d long been able to sit together in comfortable silences; neither felt the need to fill the empty air with pointless chatter. They could just be, together. But now, silence hung over them like a heavy blanket. It was suffocating, yet neither could seem to find anything to break it.

Something between them had broken and they both knew it. Maui knew he was to blame for it. His distance, his leaving, he had caused this shift in their relationship. They were left to silently scramble internally, searching for words, for something to break the silence between them. They had barely spoken when they'd eaten dinner, and now that there was nothing to do to occupy their hands or their mouths the silence grew louder. They knew they were each waiting for the other to come up with something to say first.

“So…how’ve you been?” Moana stretched out her question.

“Good, good.”

“That’s good.”

“You?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably. 

“Oh, good. You know…keeping busy. Chief stuff and all.”

“Right. Right. So that’s…going good for you then?”

“Yeah! Yeah, it’s going really well.” She answered and cleared her throat as she once more ran out of things to say.

“That’s great. I’m happy for you.” He looked away, looking anywhere but her. Two years spent seeing her face every time he closed his eyes, and now he couldn’t even bear to look at her. They sat there in the quiet again, only the waves of the ocean in the distance and the crackle of the fire in front of them lending any break in the silence.

“This is, uh- really nice.” She looked up and around at the fale they sat in. He had built a small fireplace into the center of the floor, reminiscent of the ones back on Montunui.

“Thanks.” He nodded, looking out one of the open walls.

“So this… marriage thing.” He felt Mini-Maui throw a tiny inked elbow into his pectoral; he knew it wasn’t wise to ask but it had been bugging him ever since she brought it up. He had to know. Moana sighed and rolled her eyes, throwing her head back in momentary agitation.

“Don’t remind me.”

“So it’s happening then?”

“No. Not yet anyway. My parents have been putting it off for a while, but I’m getting older. By my village’s standards, I’m practically an old maid for not being married yet.” She smirked.

“Yea…I can see that. I noticed those grey hairs.” He teased. She looked at him in playful annoyance.

“Funny. Real funny. I’m just not ready yet; I don’t want to settle down with someone who isn’t-…who doesn’t understand what I want. There’s so much to do and see still. If I get married I can’t do that.”

“Well, why does that have to change if you get married?” He hated the thought of Moana being forced to stop being who she was or doing what she loved.

“I’ll be expected to have kids, to stay on the island and lead. It’s how it’s been done for ages. Even when we were voyagers the first time, when we found a new island the Chief would stay and lead, and others would go out. A new chief would be named for that island. I’m not ready to give that up yet. And I’m not even sure if I want kids.” She sighed.

“Well from what I remember, you seemed perfectly able to voyage and lead.”

“But I also don’t want to let my parents down.”

“Don’t you think you should maybe be thinking about yourself first?” he asked. She shrugged, not meeting his gaze. 

The silence settled over them once more and they watched as the fire slowly died down to warm embers. A yawn split her face wide and she stretched, feeling the weight of everything bearing down on her shoulders. Here she was, struggling to have a conversation with Maui of all people, talking about marriage when there were much bigger problems to tackle.

“You don’t have to do this alone kid.”

“Huh?” She'd been staring into the red coals without blinking or hearing. She hadn’t realized that he’d been staring at her; that he had seen the worried look on her face. He didn’t say anything again, but worried at his bottom lip, looking uncomfortable.

“I should get to bed…we’ve got a long journey ahead of us. That is if you still want to come. You don’t have to.”

“Right. Yeah of course. I mean, I want to. Yeah…” he stopped babbling and cleared his throat.

“Good night, Moana.” He said. She nodded to him and laid down on the spare tapa mat he had. She realized for some inexplicable reason that it bugged her he had a second. _Had he been expecting company? Hoping someone would come? No…no that’s ridiculous. He’s been out here so long, he probably has spares for everything. Maybe this one is for if he traveled? Yes, that must be it._ She shook her head and sighed, willing the thoughts out of her head and drifted off to sleep. From the other side of the fire, Maui watched her; he watched as her breathing slowed and evened out. He felt a sharp kick and looked down to see Mini-Maui gesticulating wildly.

“I know! I know! Okay? Geeze, I don’t need it from you too, tiny.” Mini-Maui seemed to huff and jumped onto Mini-Moa’s canoe, he sat down next to her as he crossed his arms. Maui looked away and rested his chin in his hand, pouting. Slowly his eyes drifted back to the girl, _woman_ , across from him. The original fears that had lead him to leave came slamming back into him; he’d seen her grow up in the time he’d spent with her, and now she stood before him two years later and he’d lost all that time. She was grown, nearly the age he was when he’d stopped aging. She was, for all points and purposes, an adult. And he’d missed it all. He ignored the voice in his head that told him she’d keep aging, that she would grow old and grey and soon return to dust. He was pained by the thought of Moana growing old and grey on an island, feeling alone in her heart as she longed for the ocean she’d once loved so much. In his mind's eyes he saw her passing away with regrets of dreams of adventures unfulfilled and it killed him. He sighed in aggravation and shook his head wildly, unaware he’d used the same method Moana had. He plopped down onto his own mat and willed himself to sleep, trying to ignore the rock of guilt that was growing in his stomach.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was after two days of near silent travel that found Maui and Moana on her canoe, continuing their journey to Te Fiti. They’d only really spoken to give direction to the other as they manned their vessel, or to make a small comment. They were being far too careful with one another; practically tiptoeing on eggshells so as not to cause a fallout.

It was early in the third day when, in their early morning haze, Moana bumped into Maui and the two began an odd dance side to side, trying to let the other one by as they stumbled through awkward apologies. With a lurch, the canoe rose up and two ropes of water came flying up; each one grabbed them by the waist and sent them into the sea. Moana rose up coughing and threw her hair back from her face.

“Uhm, _what?!_ What was that about?!” she swam over to the canoe where Maui had already gotten back up. He reached down and offered her a hand, pulling her back up onto the canoe.

“Thanks.” she said quietly.

“You’re welcome." he took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"What was that about?" Moana looked over her shoulder to the ocean, which was calm once more. 

"I think this kooky-dooks ocean is about as sick of this as we are. What are we doing, Curly? This isn't like us!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." she stepped away from him.

"Yes, you do. This... silent treatment crap! We don't do that. We yell and scream. We fight, and we get past it. We don't just roll over. We need to talk about this." 

She was incensed. How dare he be the rational one! Damn him!

"Oh, you want to talk? Fine, let's talk. Let's talk about where you've been for two years Maui! Let's talk about how you left. Let's talk about that." 

She hadn't wanted to fight, this is what she wanted to avoid. But now it was like the dam had burst.

"I told you, I had things to do." he lied lamely.

"Not good enough. You could have come back at any time, you could have visited. So why didn't you?"

"I got busy."

"Right. Busy. It must be so busy on that island by yourself!" She grabbed her oar and swung it out at him, and he ducked in just enough time to miss it crashing into his ear. 

"Yes, busy! I don't have time to babysit little mortal not-princesses every day!" 

"Oh, you slimy son-of-a-"she lashed out with the oar again and he grabbed it, staring her down. 

"Now that's not very nice." he gave the oar a yank, pulling it out of her hands. She stumbled and didn't catch his expression as his eyes caught the marks from so long ago. He'd been sure she'd have gotten rid of it, and yet here it was, the same old oar he'd signed long ago. _You big stupid idiot._ His ears clued into her still yelling at him, tearing him apart, screaming about how lonely she'd been, how hurt and upset, how she herself cried to sleep for weeks.

"Would you-"  
"Could ya just-"  
"Come on-"  
"I-"  
"But!"

He tried interjecting so many times only to be cut off by her. 

"How could you do it!? I thought we were friends. You're supposed to be my best friend! And you left! You just left! Why?!"

"Because I couldn't stand to lose you!" it came barreling out. On his chest Mini-Maui covered his tiny mouth with his hands, looking for all the world like he wanted to bury himself under a proverbial rock and his larger counterpart felt very much the same way. _Well... the chicken is out of the coconut now._

"You couldn't stand to lose me... so you left?" she asked incredulously. 

"Uhm.. yeah... Yeah." he replied, looking down.

"Maui that is the _dumbest_ thing I have ever heard."

"I know! Look... I was selfish, and stupid.-"

"Big surprise"

"I'm trying to apologize! I was selfish and stupid. I started thinking about how with you being mortal and all, one day you'll get old. And I won't and...and everyone else I was coming to care about would get old too, and eventually, it would just be me. Alone… I had to get away before I.." _Before I got in too deep..._

"Before I spent too much time there. So I ran away. I ran away thinking eventually you'd forget about me one day."

"But you wouldn't forget about us." she said softly.

"Of course not. I never forget." he glanced out to the ocean, his eyes dark with the shadows of thousands of lives. 

"But I figured if I left while I still had time, it wouldn't be so bad, ya know? I was stupid.. and I was wrong."

"Mighty Maui, admitting he's wrong?" she faked surprise.

"Yeah yeah, breathe it in. It doesn't happen often." They glanced to one another and shared a smile. He saw her eyes crinkle and he sighed, opening his arms to her.

“Alright, c’mere Princess. Bring on the waterworks and all.”

She jumped into his arms, and wrapped her own around his neck, holding onto him tightly. He returned the hug just as tightly, trying for all his worth to put back together all the little broken pieces he’d left behind, and trying to piece his back together as well. Things weren’t perfect. They never were. But the air felt better between them now. It was a start. He felt her release her grip on him and she slowly stepped back. 

“So, we’re good?” he asked.

“We’re good.” She nodded, wiping away the tears that had slid down her cheeks. Maui grabbed the oar from where he’d dropped it on the deck and handed it to her.

“Well then, Master Wayfinder, lead the way.”

>>>>>>>>

As the days went by, Moana couldn’t ignore the growing nudge of concern she felt. Something just felt… off. She worried that it was something back home; but surely the ocean would have alerted her, right? Come to think of it, the ocean itself had been exceptionally quiet since it’s little act those couple of weeks ago. She furrowed her brow in thought and sat down at the edge of the canoe, staring into the depths of the water.

“Uhoh.. I know that look. What’s wrong?” Maui asked from where he sat, steering the canoe onwards.

"Something just feels.... wrong." she said as she dipped a hand into the water. 

"Does the ocean seem different to you?" Moana asked, her gaze not leaving the ocean. Slowly the ocean rose up in front of her, its crest rising to be face level with her. They considered one another for a moment, and Moana reached out a hand intent on touching the top of the crest. And if he hadn't seen it himself, Maui probably wouldn't have believed it. That crest of an ocean spasmed as if it had coughed. _But that was crazy right? Because oceans can't cough._ He blinked and shook his head; _He'd gone too long without sleep, that was all. he was seeing things._

"What's wrong?" Moana asked worriedly, instantly on the alert. 

"Are you..okay?" She, too, realized the absurdity of it all. Asking the ocean if it's okay. She'd sensed something was off for some time now, but she hadn't been able to place it. The ocean's crest sunk lower as if it were slumping over. Even without a face, it looked pitiful and helpless. 

"Maui...I think the ocean is sick."

"That's crazy, Princess. The ocean can't get sick. It's the ocean!"

"I know but... I think it's sick. Just look. Doesn't it seem different to you?"

He took a moment to look at the ocean, same blue-green waves, same salty smell. 

"Nope, same old kooky-dooks ocean to me." A spout of water reached out to smack him, but it was far weaker than normal, certainly lacking its normal punch. He watched as it weakly weaved it’s way back into the surface as if it were actually tired.

"I told you. Something is very wrong. It’s felt wrong for a while now.” Moana reached down a hand, dipping her fingers into the water.

"....alright. Maybe you're right. But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"I don’t know...but we need to do something. The ocean-"

"Yeah yeah, the ocean is your friend, I know. Don’t worry Curly" He pulled the rope of the sail a bit tighter, trying to ignore the tinge of worry he felt in his belly.

>>>>>>

They reached Te Fiti by nightfall and tied off their canoe to a large rock waiting along the shore. Moana nervously gazed at the lush green trees, wringing her hands.

“Maybe we should wait until morning.”

“No way! We came all this way…why put it off?” he slung his hook over his shoulder, looking at her in disbelief. They hadn't come all this way just to procrastinate!

“I don’t know. Doesn’t it seem rude to wake someone in the middle of the night?” she turned then to see his very unimpressed expression.

“First of all, it’s just barely after sunset, definitely not the middle of the night. Secondly, Te Fiti is asleep all the time! I don’t think it really matters when we wake her up. Quit stalling Curly.” He stepped ahead of her, hook in hand ready to clear a path through any branches.

“Maui? What if… what if she can’t help us?” he glanced back to see her looking just as young and scared as she had those years ago. He sighed and turned back.

“If she can’t help us, we’ll figure something else out. It will be okay, Moana.” He would do whatever he had to do to make sure it would be okay. Together they walked into the lush green ahead of them, making a path up.

“So, if the whole island is Te Fiti, how exactly will we talk to Te Fiti?” Moana questioned.

“Well, really not the whole thing is Te Fiti. She’s just sort of on it? She makes it up yes, but she’s also on the island herself.”

“Maui that doesn’t make any sense.”

“These things never do.” he said, shaking his head.

She followed Maui up, up, up, a mountainous hill, and clutched at a stitch in her side as they crested the top.

“Great Te Fiti! We seek your help!” Maui shouted. Moana looked at him like he had lost his mind. The ground started shaking, the trees and flowers began to move and the Goddess appeared before her, her bright eyes landing on the pair. Moana bent into a low bow of respect, as Maui did the same. Te Fiti smiled and put her large hand out, offering it to them to step onto.

“Te Fiti please…we come seeking your help. Something is wrong; I think the ocean is sick.” Moana said. Te Fiti cocked her head to the side, a single green eyebrow arched in question.

“The fish are dying and my people are getting sick. And the ocean… something feels wrong. It's not acting right, it's weak. Please, can you help?” she clasped her hands, praying in her head to any God that would listen that she would. Te Fiti sadly shook her head, and slowly lowered her hand back to the ground.

“What? But-“ Moana went to step forward but was stopped as Maui placed a firm hand on her shoulder, stopping her action.

“Please…I need your help. We’ve come all this way!” Again the Goddess sadly shook her head, she reached out a gentle finger and wiped the tear from Moana’s cheek. Giving the pair a sad smile she lay back down to continue her long sleep and the earth fell still again.

“Moana…” Maui was at a loss for words. He’d been afraid it would happen but had been in denial. Surely she would help them. But alas, his fears had come true. There was nothing to be done. He looked over to see his friend had crumpled to the ground, her shoulders shaking.

“We came all this way…for nothing!” She hit the ground beneath her, her tears taking over. Maui bent down and helped her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her away, back down the path and towards the beach.

“I know…I’m sorry. We’ll figure something out.” He said. She gave no response. They fell asleep in silence that night, camping out on the beach of the island. She had turned her back to him and curled deep under her blanket, her curls just barely visible under the covers. He sat up for a while that night, his brain scrambling over thousands of options. Anything they came up with at this point would be a long shot, but a long shot was still a shot, and he would do anything to help Moana and the people of Montunui.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All that travel and for nothing! Poor Moana.
> 
> I'm rather fond of the idea that Maui is around the age of 25 or so. It’s obvious that his appearance is young, and in an old tale I found about him he was described as being depicted as a lithe teenager on the verge of manhood. But I prefer our Maui built! haha. (and let's be real, pulling up Islands and lassoing the sun would build some serious muscle!)
> 
> Surprisingly, Disney did stick to some truth with his tale. He was born prematurely and his mother cast him into the sea. "The waters bore him safely. The jelly fish enwrapped and mothered him. The god of the seas cared for and protected him." He was cared for and cherished by the gods. But for all my research I can't find much else about him growing up or his age or anything so I’m going with young 20’s for the physical appearance.
> 
> Tune in next time to see where our heroes go next!


	5. Chapter 5

When Moana awoke the next morning it was to a pounding headache and a dry throat. She clenched her eyes shut and rubbed at her temples, wishing that the previous night had been a nightmare and that she’d open her eyes and find out that she was still on the canoe in the middle of the sea. She slowly rose up from where she had slept to find that she was alone. Looking up and down the shore she spotted him walking her way, half a coconut shell in one hand and a bunch of bananas in the other.

“Morning.” He greeted, handing her the shell. She found that it was cleaned out and filled with cool water, most likely from one of the fresh springs nearby. She nodded in thanks, gingerly taking one of the bananas he offered her. She eyed the large bunch he carried and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Te Fiti provides breakfast at least.” He shrugged, afraid to upset her further after their failure of the previous night.

“Where do we go now?”

“I was thinking about that a lot… and I think we should stop at Lalotai.”

“Lalotai? As in…realm of the monsters Lalotai? You realize the last time we went there we both almost died?”

“I know. But what other option do we have? Tamatoa might be a dirty, greedy, bottom-feeder, but he has a lot of dark connections, he might know what’s going on.”

“And why would he tell us?”

“There’s no guarantee that he will, but it’s worth a shot.” _better option than my other idea._ He kept his thoughts to himself as he checked the rigging and pushed them off into the water.

When they finally came to the small beach and sheer rock face that would lead them to their destination Maui transformed into his giant hawk form and, keeping care to not catch her with his massive claws, grabbed her by the upper arms and flew them both to the top.

“Now remember Princess Clumsyfeet, the waters might have calmed down a lot since we returned the heart, but Lalotai is still the realm of monsters and there’s still plenty of things down there that want to and will eat you if they get the chance.”

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder.” She shuddered, remembering their first trip and the tongue that had wrapped around her leg.

“Just don’t show you’re afraid and keep that warrior face up.”

The jump down went much better than the first time she had visited. They quietly made their way down to the ground, careful to avoid bringing any attention to themselves. They dodged eight-eyed bats and large eels. Moana narrowly escaped being eaten by a strange flower, and momentarily lost Maui as she ran for cover. She carefully stuck her head around the pillar of rock she had stopped behind, peering ahead to see if the coast was clear.

"What do you see?" Maui had almost forgotten that Moana had a rather impressive left hook; and he was all too quickly reminded when she sent her fist careening into his nose. He hissed in pain, and pinched his nose as his eyes watered.

"Geeze! Warrior face not warrior fist!" he stomped in pain, hissing through his teeth.

"Sorry!" she gasped

"Gah! Who taught you how to hit?" he rubbed his aching nose. Immortal though he might be, he could still feel pain, and while he would heal quickly, it had hurt. Honestly he was impressed, but he wouldn't admit that anytime soon.

“You shouldn’t have snuck up on me!” she said, walking on ahead.

"I think you broke my nose!" 

"Men are such babies" she muttered

"I heard that!"

"I meant for you to!" she said back to him. She slowed to a stop as she came to the opening of the cavern where she had last seen Tamatoa. It was eerily quiet, and the air was still. It was unsettling. Last time there had been the vibration of life, and now; nothing.

Together they tiptoed towards the center of the room to a hulking mass of gold.

“Who… is it?” came the rasping whisper. Moana practically jumped out of her skin and next to her Maui went on the immediate defense, his hook out and ready to attack. The mass shook again and lifted barely inches off the ground before it fell to the ground again.

“What?” Maui cautiously approached, walking around to the other side. He gasped at what he found. The once bright crab was now a sickly grey, his eyes yellowed and barely opened.

“Oh- it’s you. The little semi-demi-min-“ he was cut off as a wicked cough cut through his words.

“What’s happened?” Moana asked, scurrying around to Maui’s side.

“Well I think that much is obvious isn’t it? I’m dying.” Tamatoa spat.

“Why have you come? Are you here to pick on old suffering Tamatoa? Come to rip another leg off?” he turned his cold gaze to Maui and shuddered in pain. The demigod looked at him pitifully, turning his hook in his hand uncomfortably. With every cough more loose gold came tumbling off, creating piles around the large crab.

“Look… for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Maui said quietly.

“I don’t need your pity.”

From the start Tamatoa was greedy; always wanting more, to be more. To be the biggest and the best, to be exalted and admired by all. And then here came Maui, the little mortal cast out into the sea and chosen by the Gods; chosen for greatness. Why?! As much as he was cast out and turned away, no matter how hard he tried to gain the love of the mortals, he was nothing more than a glorified errand boy and yet still he tried. He still had that disgusting, despicable hope.

And Tamatoa hated him for it. He’d always hated him.

_When Maui was younger Tamatoa had lured him in, had pretended to befriend the demi-god. He played to his weakness and dreams, congratulated him for pulling up the islands and lassoing the sun. He acted like a friend. Maui was lonely, he only wanted connection, and Tamatoa saw that and played to it. Slowly, he gained Maui’s trust, as cautious as the demigod was. And then he begged him for a favor; to get him the heart of Te Fiti._

_“Why?”_

_“Whoever holds the heart can hold power over life itself. I could live forever, just like you! Why waste it on those mortals up above? They don’t really care for you...” he circled Maui._

_“That’s not true! They’re my friends. And why do you need it anyway? You can already live forever.”_

_“Well yes, that’s true. But I can still get sick, you know. Wouldn’t that just make you feel awful, if you knew you could help your old pal Tamatoa, and then something happened? And besides, it would make a rather lovely addition to my collection, don’t you think?”_

_“I don’t know…” Maui said uncertainly. He had plenty of friends with the mortals, didn’t he? And their lives were so short; so pitifully short._

_“Do you really think those mortals are your friends? The mortals are cold. They only care about themselves. Look at what they did to you.” Tamatoa said cruelly as he ran a cold claw up Maui’s back, indicating the tattoo that depicted his own mother throwing him into the ocean. But Maui had met other kinder mortals, those who wanted him around, who cared about him. Hundreds of faces flew through his mind; friends long past and friends thriving above. Friends he didn’t want to lose._

_“They’re not all like that.”_

_“Oh, but they are. They’ll use you for their advantage and then toss you out, just like your mother.”_

_“Stop that.”_

_“They don’t really care about you.”_

_“Shut up!”_

_“Why would they? Weak… ugly… you’re nothing like them.”_

_“I said shut up!”_

_Tamatoa came barreling down on top of him, his eyes flashing a kaleidoscope of colors. Before he’d scarcely realized what he’d done Maui gripped one of Tamatoa's legs and tore it off, throwing it across the cavern. The crab gave a great howl of pain and crashed down._

_“Look what you’ve done! Look what you’ve done to me! You awful, evil shit!” He howled in pain, rocking back and forth as he wailed._

_“I will get you back for this! Mark my words! Go back to your little humans! You’ll see that I’m right! You’re just as awful as I am!”_

Another great cough brought Maui back to the present. He blinked away the past and looked to the withering crab in front of him,

“You were wrong, you know. About everything.”

“Come to gloat then, have you?”

“Ya know, I really feel sorry for you. You’re so blinded by your greed and hate. You've spent your whole life surrounded by cold trinkets."

"And what have you found that's so worthy?" Tamatoa rasped. He stared at Maui through blurry eyes, watched as his gaze flickered to Moana. He smirked cruelly.

"Hoo-hoo. Let me guess; love? You think you've found love? You're a fool. You've always been a fool." his voice grew slower and weaker, his breaths coming out in shallow gasps.

"They'll cast you out again, you'll see. You're a fool." his words faded away in a final breath. Maui stood there a moment, staring at the remains of his enemy

"You're wrong."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“I don’t get it… how did he die? I thought he was immortal?” Moana broke the silence that had settled over them as they sailed away. Maui had been quiet and distracted since they left the cavern; Moana had a feeling it had less to do with the death of the old crab, and more to do with the conversation that had occurred between him and Maui.

“Not so much. Crabs like him? Well technically they’re as mortal as you are, they can be hurt and they die. It’s just rare. They need to get really hurt or really sick for it to happen. That’s how he’s managed to live for so long; cooped up in that cave of his, safe from everything and with food on demand.” 

“The fish! Maui! He ate the fish too.”

“This is much worse than we thought. If it can take out someone like Tamatoa...this isn't something of this world." He grew silent, steeling himself.

"I think I know where we have to go."

"Where?"

"Pulotu; land of the Gods. On the island of Savai'i."

"It's real?" It was a place of legend, never before seen by any mortal. Moana often wondered if it even existed, or was merely a constructed place of fantasy. It was said no mortal could step foot there, or they would be lost forever.

"Of course it's real! Gods have to live somewhere you know."

“But how will we even get in?” Moana wasn't sure how it worked exactly, but she didn't think a demi-god like Maui could even get into the land of Pulotu.

“I have some connections.” he shrugged

They came to an island bright with color; leaves of all shades of green, bright flowers and singing birds. She gasped in wonder as she looked around. 

"Curly, I need you to listen to me very closely."

"Uh huh?" she said, watching as a butterfly danced by. She was snapped out of her reverie as he spun her around by the shoulders and gave her a jerk. 

"Moana! Pay attention. This island... mortals aren't supposed to visit it. Do not touch anything, do not eat anything, do you understand?"

"Maui-"

"I said do you understand?" she had never seen him so stern. She'd seen him angry, she'd seen him serious, but this was something else entirely. She quickly sobered up from her initial excitement as the gravity of the situation hit home. 

"I understand."

"Good. Now stick close. I don’t know how they’ll take to a mortal visiting their island.”

As they made their way through the woods, Maui walked along without hesitation, as if following unseen paths that had long been memorized. Moana didn’t question it right away; her main concern was to finally find someone that could hopefully help them.

"So where are we going?"

"Falealupo; the God's village. That is, if Havea doesn't have one of her lackeys stop us first." he said. Moana's grandmother had filled her childhood with stories of the many Gods and Goddesses. Some Moana had brushed off as tall tales. And now here she was, in the very center of it all.

"Havea? She lives here?" Havea, the goddess of love and birth, who was said to preside over the island, and was told be as sharp as she was lovely.

"Think of her like the Chief of the village. She decides who can get in and out. All Gods can live on the Island, but not everyone can be in the village. She doesn't make the decisions by herself; she'll take the other's opinions into account. But yeah, she's here."

"So we're going to talk to Havea, and she can help us?"

"We'll see."

"Maui Motu'a. Son of Pulotu. You have returned." a voice called out to them.

The pair turned to see a bright figure making his way from the trees towards them. He was impossibly tall, standing well over Maui's head, and shrouded in a cloak of bright feathers. His nose was large and beak-like, and Moana wondered if the feathers trailing down his back were his actually wings and not clothing. She watched as Maui bent his head in respect. 

"Tane. It is good to see you."

"It's been a long time since you've visited us Maui. You haven't gotten into trouble again have you?"

"That's actually sort of why I'm here...I need to speak to Havea." 

"I'm sure she would be glad to hold council with the heroes of the mortal world." he turned his bright orange eyes to Moana, his lips breaking into a kind smile and he nodded to her. 

"It is a great pleasure to meet the Moana of legend."

"Legend?" she repeated. Maui bumped her arm with his, and she remembered herself. 

"Thank you, uhm.. Sir?" she said, unsure exactly how you addressed a God. Tane chuckled. 

"No need for such formalities! Clearly you haven't learned any manners." he chided Maui on his lack of introduction and turned back to Moana

"I am Tane. Pulotu welcomes you with open arms. What is ours is yours."

"Thank you." 

"You will find Havea in the Great Fale. She is expecting you I'm sure. Word travels fast." he chuckled at his own private joke. Moana and Maui bowed their heads in respect again. Tane was gone as quickly as he appeared and Moana spun around to find Maui was already a food few feet ahead of her. She ran to catch up, matching his stride at his side. 

"Motu'a?"

"C'mon kid, you really didn't think I went my whole life without a last name? It means islands. Pretty lame, I know. I guess it was fitting though." 

"Maui Motu'a. Hmm." she rolled the full name over her tongue. He rolled his shoulders and tried to not pay too much attention to how hearing his name roll off her lips made his heart warm.

Maui lead her through a large archway that would have been otherwise hidden by a thick curtain of vines had she been alone. The village before her was a place of wonders; fales spread out among the foliage, a sprawling field housed many benches and a fire pit. Birds that sang to one another in the trees. Gods and Goddesses she had only seen depicted in paintings now walked by her, nodding in greeting.

They walked into the building that served as the Fale Tele; the Great Fale, isn't that what he had called it? At the far end of the large room she saw a beautiful woman sitting atop a throne of sparkling stone. Havea was shockingly beautiful; dressed in robes of sparkling white, her dark hair was a stark contrast and only served to showcase her lovely face that much more. Bright blue eyes stared out under dark expressive brows. Atop her head sat a crown of white feathers and sea-shells. Beside her sat a large imposing man dressed in a lava lava so red it was almost black, a lei of red flowers and sharp teeth hung around his neck.

"Welcome." she greeted the pair. Maui dipped into a low bow and Moana followed suit, stunned to be in the presence of yet another Goddess of legend.

"What brings you home, Maui, Demigod of the wind and sea?"

 _Home?_ Moana glanced to her friend, a million questions racing through her mind. Earlier with Tane, she had just assumed Maui had made the occasional visit, had been allowed to walk among the Gods who had granted him his demi-god status. 

"Have you caused more trouble again?" the man beside her asked. 

"Not this time, Kane." _Kane, God of Procreation._

"Havea; please we need your help." Together Moana and Maui explained to her the situation; explained how Te Fiti had been unable to help; how it had been the cause of Tamatoa's death.

"It sounds like Whiro is up to his old tricks again." she said.

"Whiro?"

"Son of Hine-nui-te-po; goddess of the underworld." Maui explained in a hushed whisper.

"An evil little wretch lacking all respect and discipline." said Kane.

"I'm afraid we hold no jurisdiction there, you will have to talk to Hine-nui-te-po herself." Havea said remorsefully.

"But-"

"I'm sorry my dear, but even we Gods have our restrictions. There are things we cannot interfere with. You are welcome to stay for as long as you both like, our island is open to you."

"Thank you." Moana said, in awe of the generosity she was being shown. She noticed then the look upon Havea's gorgeous face, the small smile she wore on her lips as if she were holding onto a secret. Her eyes glanced from Moana to Maui and back again. 

"How lucky one must be, to have such a blessed love right next to them, and not even be aware of it. Pity mortals do not live long enough that they cannot wait forever to know it." Moana tilted her head in confusion while next to hear Maui cleared his throat, bowing in thanks to the goddess before wheeling Moana around and out of the fale.

"What was that?"

"Who knows... some kooky-dooks mumbo-jumbo. But hey, we have a lead!" he deflected. 

"At least we know where to go now." Moana said before yawning. She had barely slept in days; it had been just shy of a week's worth of travel from Lalotai to Pulotu but she'd only grabbed a couple of hours of sleep each night. 

"Come on, I know a place we can stay for the night." He steered them towards a fale set off towards the back of the village, a path leading to the beach just visible behind it. Maui stepped into the fale timidly. 

"Hello?" he called out.

"Ah! You've come home! It's been so long!" Maui was suddenly enveloped in a warm hug given by a smaller older man.

Moana had become used to seeing Gods looking young and healthy, in the prime of their lives. Yet the figure before them appeared as an old man, with stark white hair and a beard to match. He was draped in gold, the flowing material sparkling with his every move. She was blinded by his smile and couldn't help but smile in his warm presence. She was doubly surprised when he wrapped her in a tight hug as if he had known her all of her life. 

"Come in, come in! You both must be exhausted!"

"Moana, this is Tame-Nui. My father for all intents and purposes."

"Father?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah! The pleasure is mine child! Great hero of the seas!" he laughter was infectious. 

"Sit! Sit! I will prepare a dinner for us! No! Even better! There will be a feast!" and faster than she ever thought his feet could carry him he was out the door.

When nightfall came Tame-Nui excused himself to bed; God though he may be, there was nothing like a good night's sleep. He left Moana and Maui to sit around the fire he had built. After a quiet moment Maui looked to her and nodded to the door; a silent request that she follow along. They walked to the beach and side by side walked along the shore, their footprints washing away with the waves. She glanced to him and in the moonlight saw his brow wrinkling in thought; she knew there was a lot weighing on him and she'd give him as much time as he needed.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." He finally said.

"That's an understatement." she chuckled. 

"I don't really know where to start."

"The beginning is always a good place." she said. He nodded but didn't make to say anything else. Moana walked along with him, letting him work through whatever it was going on in his mind.

"How about we start with why you seem to know everyone here? Why you call this place home?" she suggested after a long while. "I thought mortals weren't allowed to come here, and I know you're a demi-god but that was gifted to you wasnt it? You started out as a mortal."

"The legends got it wrong. My mother was a mortal... but my father;" He paused, bracing himself for what he was about to say next. 

"I may not have exactly told you the truth before... only one of my parents was mortal. My real father is Tagaloa"

Moana stumbled. Tagaloa? 

"As in... the all-father? The creator of life itself?!" 

_Grandma Tala had taught her many of the stories and legends of old. Including that of Tagaloa, creator of life. He had sat up in his sky, alone and bored. And so pulled up a mountain of rocks and dirt and he sent down his daughter, Te Fiti and she became the mother island. Next he created Savai'i and invited all the Gods and Goddesses to use it as a place to rest._

_He created mortals, and created more islands for them to live on.He called upon the Goddesses and Gods to help him create life and animals and a whole world. Te Fiti had brought lush life to the earth, far better than the rocks and dirt he had pulled from the sea. Havea brought love, and Kane; procreation, and together; birth. Tane created birds of every shape and color. Together they all worked, creating a beautiful world they could share._

_Tagaloa found great joy in visiting the world that he had created, enjoyed visiting the mortals._

_Soon Tagaloa realized that mortals did not live forever and when they died their tired spirits had no place to rest; and so he asked upon Hine-nui-te-po to give them a place to rest. And so, Rarohenga was created._

_His world was not perfect, of course; otherwise it would never have been necessary for Maui to lasso the sun or steal fires or commit his many other feats. She wondered momentarily what would have happened to him had he not done all that he had for mortals. Where would he be now?_

"He came down to visit the mortals and he met my mother. And then he left her. So when I came along...." Maui sighed. He stopped walking and sat down, his eyes unseeing. Moana sunk down to join him.

"She took one look at me; this ugly little squawking baby who came too soon, and all she saw was my father. So she threw me into the sea. And it saved me" he smiled sentimentally as he motioned to the ocean. His worry for the ocean had been increasing lately; "kooky-dooks" though it may be, it had saved him. He quite literally owed it his life.

"It wrapped me in seaweed and rocked me to sleep. The jellyfish cradled me and carried me safely to the shores of Savai’i. Tame-Nui found me and saved me. He raised me. He brought me into Pulotu, straight into the village of Falealupo and swaddled me in warm cloths in his fale and raised me as if I was his own.”

“And where is Tagaloa now?”

“Hard to say. He…wasn’t around much. I saw him only a handful of times after Tame-Nui took me in."

"Why didn’t you ever say anything?"

"C'mon, would you really have believed me? Heck even I don't believe it some days!" he snorted. 

"It was hard enough for me to learn my parents didn't want me... but to learn the truth of my parentage..." Maui sighed and looked down. Moana's heart broke for him. She lifted a hand to his shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze. 

"Thank you for telling me." 

At another time her touch wouldn't have been more than a friendly consolation, but now it felt like a hot brand on his skin. He prayed she didn't hear the way his heart was beating in his chest. After a moment he patted her hand and carefully stood up, turning his grip to help her rise from the sand. 

"I don't normally share it with anyone. I get judged enough." he looked away. Neither one made a move to untangle their hands.

"Well you don't have to worry about that; you're still the same old Maui to me." She smiled to him. He returned her smile and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, willing the sudden urges he felt to go away. _When had this all started? When had he stopped seeing her as a little kid and started seeing her as a woman; as someone...someone for whom he had feelings he couldn't quite explain? Havea's words from earlier had been nagging him ever since. He didn't have forever, it was something that weighed all too heavily on him; it had been the reason he'd run away in the first place. He'd wanted to avoid it altogether and now here it all was, staring him in the face. When on earth had this scrawny little human gone from minor annoyance, to best friend to... to what exactly? He was grateful to her, for so many things. She had forgiven him more times than he was deserving of, she stood by him and supported him, and she didn't judge him (too harshly) for anything. She was the best thing he had in his life... and he was a coward._

He sighed sadly and stepped forward, resting his forehead against hers. 

"Thank you."

Maui was unaware of the fire that coursed through Moana's entire body at his touch. It had been something growing in her for quite some time now. She'd first pushed it down to having missed him. Then she pushed it aside for sake of responsibility; there was too much going on right now to think about a thing like... _like love? Was this love?_

Together they stood there in silence, neither moving. Maui brushed his nose against Moana's, and she tilted her head up by a fraction. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

"We should get back..." Maui whispered and backed away from her, unwilling to meet her gaze. 

"Right.. right." she said, clearing her throat. As Maui turned away she missed a rather frustrated Mini-Maui pulling at his hair and throwing up a tiny hand to indicate just how close they had been. Maui felt a tiny pap-pap and looked down to see Mini-Maui beating his head against his skin. 

"Yep..." he sighed and shook his head. He mentally kicked himself over and over, wishing he could turn back time. _I can slow it... I can't rewind it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again as always! :) I love getting comments and kudos! 
> 
> I may be the outlier, but I never really agreed with the theory that Tamatoa and Maui were ever friends. He pretended to be his friend for but half a second and turned against him. Maui was lonely, he only wanted connection, and Tamatoa saw that and played to it.
> 
> Also this is another chapter where I did a lot of research on old legends and sort of worked it around to fit in my story. Honestly, if you ever get a chance, read up on the old Samoan, Tonga, Maori, Hawaiin, and Polynesian myths! Some of it is similar and it is all quite fascinating! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I hope to get another one out by this weekend!


	6. Chapter 6

Moana went to sleep that night with dozens of questions running through her mind. She still couldn’t shake the tingling fire that buzzed through her. What happened back there? They had been so close… surely there had almost been a moment. Was she imagining it? Maybe he hadn’t meant anything and she was imagining it all. Maybe by tilting her head forward, slight though it was, was just too much for him. What if he didn’t feel anything for her? She rolled over, her stomach twisting and turning.

When she woke up the next morning, after yet another night of poor sleep, she was determined to act like the moment on the beach had never happened. Stop calling it a moment… it wasn’t a moment. It was nothing. She scolded herself. Stop reading so much into it. He’s a friend…that’s all. It didn’t mean anything. Friends do that, family does it…it’s how we show we care. A sign of affection and respect.

Except this was different, wasn’t it?

She thought back to the night she left Montunui, when Wakaroa had unexpectedly stepped forward and rested his forehead on hers. She had felt something then too, but assumed it was because it was something new for them. They didn’t hug or really touch at all for that matter, save for the occasional moment he would help her down from a tall height, or when they handed something from one to the other. That was it. That was normal. So the gesture had taken her off guard. She knew she was lying to herself about that too. Somewhere, somehow, she had started to consider maybe she could feel more for Wakaroa if she had let herself.

Moana arose to find she was alone in Tame-nui’s fale. Walking to the entrance she found Maui and Tame-nui sitting near one another not too far away from the home, their voices low murmurs. She strained her ears to hear what they were saying as she walked forward, realizing that she had so far gone unnoticed.

“Have you said anything?” Tame-Nui asked.

“Of course not! I don’t want to look like an idiot.” Maui turned his head away and his eyes grew wide as he saw Moana. He stumbled to his feet

“Moana! G-Good morning.” He cleared his throat.

“Good morning..” she said, all too aware of his awkwardness. Tame-Nui stood as well and chuckled and patted Maui on the back.

“You two have quite a journey ahead of you. It is at least half a day’s walk.”

“So, Rarohenga is on this island too?” she asked.

“Yes and no. The entrance is on the back side of the island. There's all of Savai'i, and then Pulotu, and then the village, of course. And then on the backside is Te Rerenga Wairua, the leaping place of the spirits. That’s the entrance to Rarohenga." Said Maui.

“And you’d two better get started if you want to be there before nightfall.” Tame-Nui urged good naturedly.

It took them the entirety of the morning and part of the afternoon to make their way to the other side of the island. As they came to clearing Moana sighed in relief. The terrain had been easy enough until the last leg of their journey, where it was practically a climb straight up.

“Do you really think she’ll help us?”

“What other choice do we have at this point?” Maui said. Truthfully he was trying not to give up hope. So far every other attempt had been a failure. He didn’t care if he had to petition to Tagaloa himself, he would find a way to solve this. He led her to the edge and Moana stared down the cliff side to the two large pillars of rock that stood out of the water; large holes at the top of each served as the entryway.

"We have to jump down there?!"

“If we want to get to Rarohenga, yes. It’s not so bad, one quick jump and we’re in!”

“I don’t know about this…” Moana took a cautious step back. Everything about this screamed dangerous. This was a place for the spirits, what would happen to her if as a living mortal she jumped down?

“Oh please. You’ve jumped down to Lalotai, twice I might add, how is this any different?”

“Because…I’m a mortal.”

“Yep… last time I checked.” He put a hand on his hip and cocked his head to one side, unsure of where she was going with this.

“Well, no mortal has even made it onto this island, much less gone to the Underworld alive. What if I can’t get in? Or what if she won’t let me back out?”

“Curly, it’ll be fine.” He said softly. Moana looked back down to the entrance, her hands fidgeted nervously.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"In theory…"

“Then trust me when I say it’ll all be okay.”

"I sure hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I." he murmured under his breath. He reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close. With a hearty "Chee-hoo!" he leapt off the cliff and brought them down into the depths below. His cheer mixed with her scream as they dropped into the darkness. 

The world below was dark; black stone made up the cavern in which they'd landed, and an odd glowing river of swirling purples and blues flowed by along one wall and illuminated the space. A figure stepped out from around a corner, draped in a long flowing purple skirt. The band of fabric around her top covered only the essentials and showed off an impressively fit physique.

“She must have been expecting us.” she heard Maui whisper to her.

Hine-nui-te-pō was unlike anything Moana had ever seen before. She looked human for the most part; she was tall and slender, with high pointed cheekbones and a strong jaw. Her skin was dark as night and she had the sort of beauty that made her dangerous. Her hair, Moana realized, was not hair at all, but in fact comprised of seaweed. Her green eyes glowed as brightly as Te Fiti's heart. 

“I thought I heard the breath of life around here. Hello child” she turned her bright eyes to Moana.

“And you’re the last person I would have expected a visit from. This is not exactly the place for a social call.” She addressed Maui. Moana was shocked by the calmness of the woman before her; she spoke as if she were commenting on the weather. She watched as the Goddess approached Maui and embraced him in an undoubtedly uncomfortable hug, judging by the look on Maui’s face. He did move his arms to return the hug and she stepped back, threading her own through one of his arms and ushered them away from where they had stood.

“It’s been an awful long while Maui.”

“Yeah, well I’ve been busy.”

“Yes, I’ve heard! All that time on that little island of yours.”

“Well there’s certainly worse Hells.” He said stiffly. She threw her head back in a laugh and Moana had to hold back her gasp; rows of pointed teeth shone from behind her dark lips, like the mouth of one of the barracuda back on Montunui.

“Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. I wonder what else is the same?” Hine-nui-te-pō drew her free hand down his bicep, tracing her fingers along his tattoos and Moana tried to push down the sudden flare of jealousy that coursed through her. She felt marginally better as Maui untangled himself from her hold and busied both of his hands with holding his hook. He cleared his throat and gave her a disgruntled look but Hine-nui-te-pō shrugged and smirked as if it didn’t bother her at all.

“Suit yourself.” She said and sauntered on ahead. They followed her into a smaller room that housed only a long table and several ornate chairs. Hine sat herself at the head of the table and crossed one long leg over the other. The slit of her skirt gave them a view of her leg from her foot nearly all the way to her hip.

“What brings you all the way down here, and with a mortal no less?”

Together, Moana and Maui told their story once more, explaining their journey to Te Fiti and Tamatoa, and then of how their journey to Havea had led them here. Hine-nui-te-pō smirked and shook her head.

“Well of course she couldn’t help. She can only create life, can heal it… she can’t stop death.” she said haughtally, referring to Te Fiti.

“But you can.” Moana said bravely.

“Of course I can. If I choose to. But, this isn’t even my work. Although I admit, trite as it is, it’s rather clever.”

“We need to speak to Whiro.” Maui said authoritatively. Hine-nui-te-pō returned his gaze for a long while, unblinking. Maui however, remained undeterred.

"Oh very well." she pouted. She snapped her long fingers and a strange figure waddled into the room. Upon second glance Moana recognized it as a Kakamora and she wondered what one was doing down here. Hine-nui-te-pō requested of the figure to retrieve her son and it gave a short bow and hurried off leaving the trio to sit in silence.

“You’ve done well for yourself.” Hine-nui-te-pō said, her gaze locked onto Maui who made no attempt to continue the conversation. She however looked completely unbothered and busied herself inspecting her nails.

“You called for me?” a young man entered the room alone. He looked like he was barely older than Moana, but she knew he was eons older than that. His dark eyes gazed at Moana and Maui as he made his way across the room. He bent down to place a kiss on Hine-nui-te-pō’s cheek and stepped back. She cupped his cheek and smiled up to him.

"Whiro, darling, are you causing all this trouble up there in the mortal world?"

"It was just a bit of fun mother. These souls down here are so boring. I needed some new friends."

"My dear you know the souls are not yours to toy with. We are supposed to be a safe haven for those that pass over."

"So I helped them pass sooner, what of it?" he crossed his arms childishly.

"Oh my dear child, you are as darling as you are dim. No one died because of this; if they did they were already nearing their death. You are foolish. Now get rid of it."

"But mother.." he whined

“I said end it. Now!" her voice was crystal clear and echoed through the room. 

"You never let me have any fun." he turned and sulked out of the room. 

"There now, that little matter is taken care of."

"Just like that?" Moana said. It seemed too easy. Hine chuckled and shook her head.

“What were you expecting dear? A sacrifice of some sort?”

“Well…”

“Oh you mortals are so simple.” She tittered.

“No no, this was nothing more than childish mischief. Now unless there’s anything else you need.. or want..” her eyes momentarily flicked to Maui, hungrily roaming down his body before snapping back to Moana

“You’re free to leave.” She flicked her fingers at them in dismissal

>>>   
Once they returned to the cliff from where they had jumped, thanks to Maui transforming into his hawk form, Moana stared down in disbelief. They had done it… it was over…She looked at Maui who looked just as stunned as she did. How could it have ever been that simple? Their shared smiles turned into laughter at the relief that their harrowing adventure was over. Wordlessly they came together in a hug and Maui rested his chin atop her head, holding her close.

“Let’s go home.” She sighed.

Home. A word that had never meant much to him before. But now… home was wherever she was. He pulled back from the hug and smiled, a nod his only answer before they turned into the woods together.

>>>>

The good mood stayed with them down the hills and back into the village. Tame-nui hugged them both heartily, inviting them to return anytime. 

"Here." he said, handing her a strange looking fruit; it was a deep pink and round.

"A gift from the Gods. Feed your sick a berry from this fruit and they will be healed." Moana gave him another hug. From over her shoulder Tame-Nui raised his eyebrows at Maui, silently urging him to stop dragging his feet.

As they returned to the shores Moana was ecstatic to see the ocean joyfully greeting them; streams of water jumped around and splashed them. The ocean seemed just as excited to see them back on the shores of Montunui and gave their canoe a hearty push away from the beaches of Savai’i.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's one victory! Onwards we go!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for any typos. I emailed this to myself from my work computer and uploaded it with my phone. Hope it's all good!!

“Would you stop poking at that crazy fruit already?” Maui taunted her. For at least the fifth time since they had left the island, Moana was checking on the strange fruit once more, ensuring that it was safely tucked away, and that it was real. She sighed and shut the door of the hold once again before she turned to look at him.

“I just wanted to check on it!”

“It’s a gift from Savai’i, its fine. Trust me.” He shook his head in playful annoyance and tied off the sail, leaning back to relax a moment. Moana made her way over to him and took a seat at his side.

"So you and the Goddess of the Underworld seemed oddly close?" Moana prodded. Her curiosity had won out on her once again

"Yea, you can say we're old friends." Maui said, visibly irritated.

"Hold on! Did you… you didn't actually-"

"No! no!" Maui shook his head and looked rather disgusted. On his chest Mini-Maui covered his mouth as he gagged over-dramatically.

"She tried mind you. Boy did she try. She tried trading me all kinds of favors. Unfortunately for her I have a lot better taste than that."

Moana didn't respond, but Maui couldn't ignore the fact that she looked oddly pleased with his answer.

>>>>>>>>

As the days rolled by, Moana found herself wondering just how long the fruit gifted to her would last. But every time she looked at it, it had remained unchanged.

When they pulled up onto the shores on Montunui it was midday. Moana wrapped the odd fruit securely and tucked it away into a bag that she slung over her shoulder. Together she and Maui pulled the canoe further onto the sand and tied it off to the nearby trees.

"Moana! You're back!" she turned to address the voice and was encased in a warm hug.

“I saw your sails as you were coming in!” Wakaroa stepped back and smiled at her.

"I told you I’d be back! Did you really doubt me?" she laughed and gave him a playful shove. This was normal. She thought to herself.

"Of course not." he responded and then turned as if only just now seeing Maui.

"Great Demi-God Maui! You're back as well! Are you going to stay a while with us?"

Wakaroa, Maui remembered him; he'd seen him many times while fishing with the men of the village, or running around trying to corral many of the little ones. What he did not remember, however, was him ever being so close with Moana.

"Wakaroa, how is everyone?" Moana asked.

"We've been doing as best as we can." he frowned.

"We haven't lost anyone, but they're weak and tired. We started another mango grove and we've been eating a lot of chicken eggs. It's not so bad really. But my Gram she's.." he trailed off and looked back towards the village.

"Oh no, Wakaroa, I'm so sorry!"

"No! no! Not that." he assured her and Moana sighed in relief.

"She's just been the weakest of them all. A lot of the younger ones got better within a week or so. But Gram and some of the elders haven't been doing so well. We’ve been trying to keep them fed on mashed up bananas and coconut water."

"We need to get them this then." Moana pulled the fruit out of the bag.

"What is it?"

"I'm not really sure. But I know it can help."

"...I'm trusting you on this Chief." he said.

"Have I ever let you down?" she teased. Together they headed up towards the Fale Tele leaving Maui to trail behind. He tried to stamp down the bubbling jealousy as Wakaroa casually threw an arm over her shoulder and lead her towards the village.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Maui found that he was welcomed back with open arms. If anything he'd expected at least a bit of push-back from Tui, but instead the former chief slapped him heartily on the back and praised the Gods for his return. Working as one mind again, Moana and Maui glazed over their initial failures on their journey and simply explained that they would tell the full story another day, but that the fruit Moana held was a gift from the Gods and had been promised to be able to heal their sick.

Carefully they cracked it open to find the inside filled with bright red seed-like berries. One by one they fed those who remained in the Fale Tele and within an hour their symptoms started to ease. The joy flooded the entire village and a celebration for their good fortune was quickly organized and scheduled for the next night. The fishermen returned to the sea to find it filled with large healthy fish once again, along with a number of crabs and lobster.

“Perhaps Te Fiti saw fit to help us out after all?” Moana said to Maui as he jumped off one of the canoes with a cage full of shellfish. He shrugged, unsure of exactly what the sudden cause of new seafood was.

“Stranger things have happened, Short Stuff.” he glanced from the cage again and back to the ocean, his expression unsure.

“What is it?”

“Nothing really… Just thinking. It’s odd, isn’t it odd?”

“Maybe Tame-Nui then? Or Havea? Or your girlfriend there.” she teased him, feeling safe to do so now that she knew the truth of his feelings, or lack thereof, for the goddess.

“I will throw you in the ocean.” He pointed at her threateningly, though she knew he meant it all in good fun. After a moment he sighed and returned his grip to the cage and his gaze to the sea.

“It all seems too simple...like there should have been a catch or something. I mean, how do we even know we can trust this fish to eat it?”

“I get it, I do.” Moana sighed. The same worry had been running through her mind ever since they had left Savai’i.

“It’s like I keep waiting for the other foot to drop. But, I don’t know. I just feel like it’s going to be okay, ya know?”

“You know you are disgustingly optimistic sometimes?”

“And you know that you wouldn’t have me any other way.” she gave him a playful bump with her hip and walked away, leaving him to stand and watch as she did so, with a very funny look on his face.

Later that night, as dinner with her parents came to an end, Maui made to head towards what had once been his fale. He was confused when Moana went along at his side. Pua, who had been rather upset at being left behind, now followed closely at her side once more, as if entirely unwilling to let her out of his sight again.

“So…there’s kind of something I didn’t tell you. I guess it just never came up! But, I sort of… moved in?” she winced at her admission. He tripped and stopped his stride, looking to her.

“Moved in? As in, you took my fale, moved in?”

“Well you weren’t using it!” she replied.

“I needed a place of my own. And…I missed Grandma.. and- and you. So I just sort of took it over. But I have a spare fala mat there still, and there’s still that guest room. You can stay with me tonight.”

“With you? There? Uh-“ he stayed in his spot, his toes curling in the sand uncomfortably.

“Why not? We’ve spent plenty of nights together in caves and on beaches and even on the canoe. This isn't any different. Besides… I did sort of steal your house.” She smirked, trying to ease the tension that had formed in the air. That, at least, got him to chuckle.

“Yeah, I suppose you do owe me Curly.”

>>>>>>

The next evening Maui found himself at a loss for words when Sina approached him and gifted him with a new lava lava; the cloth was a rich green and mimicked the lava lava he wore now with a pattern of dark green leaves weaved into the cloth. He choked out a meek thank you; unaccustomed to being the one to receive a gift. Sina chuckled and shook her head. 

"It could never repay for all that you have done for us." she gave his arm a gentle squeeze and left him alone to go back to the fale and change. As he stepped into the door he was stopped in his tracks at the sight of Moana placing a last flower into her hair. He was positively rooted to the spot at the vision in front of him. A band of bright red fabric wrapped around her top, decorated with shells and pearls. Her ribs down to her hips were entirely uncovered, giving ample view of her skin and the tattoos that adorned it. The hook she had placed on her hip was easily seen now. The band of her skirt hung just at her hip bones, low enough to show more skin than normal, but as had become custom for their hulas. The grass of the skirt swayed under the bright white feathers and sharp red tapa cloth that covered it. The whole thing ended just above her knees, which gave him quiet a good view of the strong legs that held her up. More tattoos lay beneath the skirt, he remembered from those years ago as she squeezed his hand tightly as that Tapau hammered the ink into her tender skin. Atop her head was a smaller version of the adornment she would normally wear as Chief; in true Moana fashion she had reserved that particular decoration strictly for "important Chiefly duties". Besides, she said, it was far too heavy to dance around with. This was much smaller and more sensible; it was but a simple band of wood that sat on her head, decorated with the richly colored flowers from around the island. Shells and feathers added extra flair. Maui found his breath caught in his throat as he took her in. 

She was beautiful. 

She smiled at him, entirely unaware of the effect she was having on him, or of the way his tongue had suddenly glued itself to the roof of his mouth. 

"Perfect timing! Can you help me with this?" she hurried over to him, handing him two strings of leaves that were meant to go around her wrists. She chuckled as he looked at her, taking his silence for confusion. 

"Come on! I can't tie them on my wrists myself!" she grabbed his hand to place the bands in his palm and it was like a jolt of electricity shot through his body. He shook his head and quickly draped the lava lava over his shoulder. With clumsy fingers he managed to tie the skinny threads together. As he finished her left wrist he turned her hand over and adjusted the band. His hand curled around her own and his eyes met hers shyly. 

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no.." he shook his head, but continued to hold her hand. 

"You just.."

"Yes?"

"You...uhm...you look good." he finished lamely. 

"Oh.. thank you." she said. He turned around and missed the way her shoulders deflated. 

"I should go change..." he said before he scurried off to hide behind the pola to his room. Once there he threw the lava lava to his fala moenga and sighed, dragging his hands down his face. On his chest he missed seeing Mini Maui and Mini Moana simultaneously slapping their tiny foreheads and shaking their heads.

>>>>>>>>>

The celebration was one of the liveliest Maui had seen since Moana had taken her place as Chief. The malae glowed with the bright torches lit around it and the fire pit at it's back. Loud music and plentiful food added to the exhilarated mood of everyone around. Flowers had been strung from each torch, and fluttered gently with the evening breeze. Maui had been asked to join in the haka with the other men of the village. It was thrilling and exciting; it spoke of strength and perseverance, and the young men said it was meant to honor both him and their Chief, for their bravery and success in helping Montunui. After they sat down it was time for the hula from the women. Together they moved in swirling motions, bodies moving in perfect timing with the music that was played.

Maui watched her dance in awe. Her body moved like the waves she loved so much, the joy on her face only serving to amplify her beauty. She'd always been pretty, but the past couple of years had certainly been kind to her. He may have been immortal but he was still a man after all. He’d noticed it when he first saw her on his island; and now, in the glow of the fire light, with so much skin showing it was impossible to ignore the curves that had formed along her body. Once only just a gentle hint were now pronounced, combining along with strong sinewy muscles strengthened by time on the sea to allover form a very pleasing figure. The tattoos that had since been added to her skin only served to accentuate those more. Seeing her dance up there, it was like watching her come to life.

He hadn’t even realized he’d been staring in a sort of reverent awe until he felt the nudge at his side. He looked to see her father was wearing a rather amused grin. Maui might have been several hundred years older than the former chief, and he was certainly larger than the elder man, but under his gaze, Moana's father made Maui feel like a small boy, especially when he'd caught the demi-god fully ogling his only daughter. Tui laughed and shook his head as he smiled in a very knowing way. Well… if Maui wasn't dead yet, perhaps that was a good sign. Her father certainly didn't hate him.

“What?” he asked bashfully.

“Nothing at all. I remember that look too well.” Tui chuckled again and shook his head in amusement.

“Her mother still has the same effect on me to this very day. Better get used to it.” He patted Maui’s shoulder and walked away. _Was he really that obvious? When had this even happened?_ Maui soon found his escape and snuck away from the din of the crowd. He trudged along the beach, combing a hand through his hair. He let a great exhale escape his lips, his mind a swirling torrent of thoughts. Sure he’d grown fond of the kid… but that was just it, She wasn’t a kid anymore; she hadn’t been for quite some time. But even besides that. It was everything about her; her energy, her smile, her bravery, her very essence. And then there was the beauty aspect; she’d grown into quite a woman. It had awoken feelings in him that he hadn’t felt since many many centuries ago. She had set a whole new flame in his stomach, one that all the oceans in the world couldn’t douse. His steps slowed and he let out a shuddering sigh as the realization hit him.

“Hoo-oo… I am in trouble. Mmhmm.”

He looked down in time to see Mini-Maui pull down his tiny chart and draw a dash on Moana’s half.

“Could you ever actually be helpful?!”

>>>>>>>>>>>

As the festivities died down, Moana's father ushered her away from the thinning crowd.

"I am so proud of you my daughter."

"Thanks Dad." she smiled to him 

"It seems to be a day for celebration of many kinds. I have some very good news for you."

"Oh?"

"Wakaroa has asked for our blessing to pursue a courtship with you."

"Wakaroa?..." her stomach dropped. It felt like the greatest of betrayals. _Wakaroa. He was supposed to be her friend._

"He is a good man, Moana."

"I know.. I just.. I'm not-"

"It is time you starting thinking seriously about your future and your role as Chief. You have a responsibility-"

"I know! I know! But I also have a responsibility to my heart. It isn't fair to force me to marry!" she said. Tui sighed. He was afraid it would come to this. He knew his daughter's resistance to the idea of marriage right now, he understood her fear of being tied down and stuck in one place. But he also had his own fears that his daughter would travel far away and never return to him again. He'd had his hopes, as he watched Moana and Wakaroa growing closer, that she'd let her heart choose him and would stay on Montunui.

"Moana... you and Wakaroa get along well, don't you? You're friends?"

"Well yeah, he's a great guy." she shrugged. 

"And spending time with him is easy, isn't it?"

"Yes. But I don't really see where you're going with this."

"Sometimes... we just have to learn to take the easy route. Would life truly be so terrible with a good friend at your side? Think about it, for me." he leaned over and kissed the top of her head before leaving her to her thoughts. 

Moana stalked down to her private beach and the ocean crested up no sooner did her feet come to the shore. 

"Is everyone against me?!" she huffed and sat back in the sand with a quiet thud. Moana gently held the locket she still wore around her neck, wishing more than anything that she could talk to Tala. She shuddered, thanking her luck that it wasn't Rangi or Afu.

 _Wakaroa was kind, and sweet. He rarely lost him temper. All things considered he truly wasn't the worst option. But could she truly be happy with him?_ she blew out a breath of air and flopped onto her back, staring up at the stars. 

"I thought I might find you out here." 

"Wakaroa!" Moana jumped up as she watched him come through the bushes and towards her. The desire to smack him was quickly squashed down when he smiled that innocent adorable smile of his. She stumbled, and only just caught herself before she fell back into the ocean. 

"I guess your dad talked to you, huh?" he scratched the back of neck, clearly embarrassed. 

"He did."

"Moana, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you. I just; I've really gotten to know you these past couple years, ya know? And I like you. I care about you a lot."

"Wakaroa.." she said softly, trying to stop him. 

"Please, just hear me out?" he asked. She nodded and pressed her lips together, waiting for him to continue. 

"All I'm asking for is a chance, that's all. I'm not going to force you to marry me. And I'm certainly not going to force you to stay on the island all the time." he chuckled. 

"You're too free to be tied down like that. That's one of the things I like about you so much; I admire it really. I'd have been too afraid to do what you did. You're so brave."

"I'm not that brave."

"Yes you are." he stepped forward, taking her hands in his. 

"Moana... " he sighed. 

"Just... at least think about it? I don't even need an answer right now. And it's not even a proposal." he smirked. 

" I just... I guess I want to see if it could go anywhere with us. You deserve someone who will treat you well, who is as kind as you are, and someone who won't try to control you. I know I'm not perfect. And I know I'm not your first choice... all I am asking is that you think about it."

"I don't know Wakaroa... I've got so much going on. And you're a good friend. I appreciate what you're doing. I just..." she looked away from him.

“I know you’re waiting for him.”

“Waka-“ she tried to interrupt.

“No, it’s okay Moa.” He smiled to her, all too kindly. _How was it that he knew her secrets before even she did? Or was she just that obvious without realizing it?_

“Take as long as you need. I’ll be waiting for you too.”

“Don’t wait for me Wakaroa, that isn’t fair to you.”

“It would be more unfair to me not to wait.” he said softly. 

"Take as long as you need... I mean it. You're worth the wait."

"I can't ask you to do that." she said.

"You're not asking though. I'm doing it all on my own. Even if it means I get hurt in the end... you're worth that risk."

They were but inches apart now, their breaths joining together in the space between them, landing as soft as a butterfly's wings on their cheeks.

"They are calling me, I gotta go-".

"Moana, no one is calling you," he said softly, brushing her hair behind her ear. He left his hand there, behind her head, and gently tilted her head up as he leaned in slowly and kissed her. His lips were soft and warm, and she found that she wasn’t entirely uncomfortable kissing him. It was comfortable and easy. But something was missing… something felt off. It was like drinking water on a dry hot day, only to find it didn't quench your thirst. She was left wanting more, but of something different. 

_Or was it someone different?_

Wakaroa pulled back from the kiss, though his hand still remained at the back of her neck, his forehead pressed against her own. 

"I had to do that, at least just once. Just to know how it felt. I won't ask you to choose between us, and I won't force your decision. Just, remember what I said, okay?" With a sigh he released her and turned around to walk away without looking back. 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
recap of vocab:

fala moegna: sleeping mat

pola: blinds used for protection or privacy

malae: the grassy field in front of or next to the fale tele; used for celebrations

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear..poor Moana.
> 
> My apologies for any typos. I emailed this to myself from my work computer and uploaded it with my phone. Hope it's all good!!
> 
> As always thank you for reading and your kudos. I love the kind comments I get :)


	8. Chapter 8

Maui was not an idiot.

He had spent centuries on this earth and he was no stranger to the tides of love or how it made men act like fools. He did not miss the way Wakaroa's eyes would follow Moana as she walked by in the village, or as she danced across the deck of whichever boat she was on, wrapped up in sailing. On the water, she was free and it made her shine brighter than the sun. He certainly did not miss the shared smiles when she caught his gaze, or the laughter as they walked together.

For weeks he tried to ignore it, tried to convince himself that it was nothing, but his worries continued to grow. Until the day it was confirmed.

He'd heard it on the breaths of whispers and in the muffled voices of quiet conversations. He heard it from the far off canoes. The news hit him like a punch to the gut. Wakaroa had expressed his intentions to Moana; and now he was hoping to be able to move forward into proposing.

He thought he had more time! He thought it was all just idle blabber. But now... now he was hearing the murmurings and whispered plans. His vision was swarmed with images of Moana and Wakaroa; Moana walking by his side, Moana kissing him.... her belly full with his child, Moana wrapped up around hi- _NO._ He shook head, killing that thought right then and there.

His stomach churned at very thought of Moana with anybody else. Who else would understand her? Her love for adventure and the sea. Anyone else would grow annoyed with her firey attitude, her determination and her at times terrifying bravery. They would crush her spirit down like one stomped down a flame. Of course her people loved her, celebrated her since her brave resurrection of their island and the rediscovery of way finding. But that could only last so long until they forced her to settle down, to take her role as chief more seriously.

He wasn't sure where this sudden rage came from. But the mere thought of someone else touching her, making her laugh or smile... it ignited an angry fire in his belly

He wouldn't stand for it.

From his chest he felt a _whack_ and looked down to Mini-Maui judging him and shaking his head. 

"I wasn't going to actually do it!" he said, and his inked likeness raised an eyebrow, looking entirely unconvinced. 

"Oh come on, I was not going to actually beat the kid to a pulp! I just wanted to scare him a bit!" he jerked as he received a double whack from the two Minis

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Maui found himself feeling extremely fortunate that she agreed to go on a quick sail with him. The day following their success with the berries they had sent out a few of their best wayfinders to bring the healing fruit to their sister islands. It would be good to check in on them he convinced her, it had been a little over a month after all. He added in that perhaps they could even go and visit the island he had been living on. He'd like to grab a few things he'd left there, he said. In reality he was just looking to get her away for a while, back to the ocean, just the two of them, where they could just be themselves together again, no interruptions or distractions.

"So, does that mean you plan on staying here for a bit?" she asked. He shuffled his feet, not meeting her gaze

"Yeah, why not? I'll need to build a new house here since _someone_ stole mine." he teased.

"But yeah. I figure I can stick around for a bit. You get into too much trouble when I leave." he playfully ruffled her hair.

His island was barely a day's sail away when he opened his big mouth.

“So… you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Wakaroa lately.” he said stiffly. It had been nice, getting out on the ocean again and spending time with Moana. The other islands had had just as much success and celebrated their fortune. But while on the sea, in conversation, the one name he didn’t want to hear had come up a little too often. 

And by too often it was really only a handful of times. But for Maui it was a handful too many. It wasn’t that he disliked Wakaroa. He really didn’t. He just didn’t like when people got in the way of what, or who, he wanted. 

“Yeah. He’s a good friend.” Moana answered. 

“Hmph. Yeah…good friend.” Maui huffed and rolled his eyes. 

“I saw he came to see you off when we left.” he said tensely. Wakaroa had indeed come to see them off, and had embraced Moana, pressing his forehead against hers in a hongi. Maui was near ready to knock the kid out, and probably would have had Mini-Maui not stopped him by snapping one of the border tattoos against his skin.

"Yeah? And?"

“I didn’t like it.” He said, shrugging. Moana sighed in frustration

“He’s my friend.”

“I didn’t like it.” He repeated.

“Well, that’s just something you’ll need to get over then, isn’t it? I’m a free woman Maui. I can do what I like.” she could feel her anger rising.

“I know you can; of course you can.” He stumbled over his words. Oh he had really messed this one up.

“And how dare you, of all people, try to control who I talk to or what I do.” she rose to her feet, infuriated, and turned away from him, stalking to the end of the canoe.

“No, it’s not like that, I wasn’t trying to-” _Great job Maui… starting a fight, on a canoe!_

“If you’d just listen to me!” he moved to go after her but she whirled around on him so fast that he had to stop himself short before he ran into her in their limited space. She poked a finger into his chest, causing the Minis to jump out of the way. 

"No you listen. I am so sick and tired of everyone telling me what to do, what not to do, what's best for me! It's infuriating! I'm the Chief! I decide what I do, and where I go! I decide who I talk to, or don't. Do you hear me?! ME! I am in charge of myself!"

"No one said you weren't! That's not what I was- _ugh_. You are so infuriating sometimes!"

"I'm infuriating? You're one to talk!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, taking a step forward. He ignored the feeling of Mini-Maui and Mini-Moana pulling at his skin, trying to pull him to a halt, to get him to _shut up_.

None of them saw the darkening skies above them.

"You are the single most infuriating, thick-headed person I have ever met!" she shouted, stomping her foot down.

“Oh you want to talk about thick headed?! You’d have plenty of experience in that!” he shot back.

“Excuse me!? 

“You heard me!”

"You know what, you- you just-! UGH!" she growled loudly and then spun around. She sat down with a huff, and crossed her arms, glaring down at the deck of the canoe.

“Ugh!” Maui spun around. _What was I thinking!? I’m such an idiot!_ He turned and sat at the other edge of the canoe, hanging his head as he rested his arms on his knees. He looked down as he felt Mini-Maui nudge him.

“Yeah I know okay? I’m a real knucklehead.” he whispered softly. Mini-Maui threw his hands around and pointedly gestured to the inked version of Moana before he crossed his arms, tapping his tiny foot in irritation.

“Buzz off would ya? I’m workin’ on it!” he sighed and tossed his hair over his shoulder, looking up in time to see the black clouds hanging above. 

“Uhmm...Curly?” she did not respond. The oceans quickly grew rough and he hastened to grab the oar and ropes. He wasn’t sure when this storm had rolled in but it certainly didn’t look good. 

“Curly? I know you’re mad but we might have a problem!” 

“What? Besides you being an idiot?” she snapped, not having looked up from the corner of the deck that she had been glaring at. Without warning the canoe gave a lurch, as if something from underneath had bumped it. She snapped to her feet, whirling around.

“ _What_ is your proble-” she cut off her sentence with a gasp as she finally saw the skies and the impending trouble. With a crack of thunder the skies opened on them in freezing torrents and the sea tossed them back and forth. 

“We’ve gotta get to land!” she yelled.

“I’m trying!” he shouted back, blinking rainwater from his eyes. 

A swell came up, as if something were rising out of the sea, and tipped the canoe sideways, sending Moana tumbling off of the edge of the canoe. He saw her fighting to break the waves; a large rush of water rushed over her and she disappeared beneath the surface. Without a second thought Maui grabbed his hook and jumped into the thrashing waves to retrieve her. Something was pulling her down into the depths; he swung his hook at the dark shape and it recoiled quickly, releasing its grip on her wrist. He pulled them both onto the canoe and she let out a wracking cough, retching as water came rushing out. He patted her back before he stood and pulled the ropes tight. 

"Just hang tight, Princess. We're gonna make it." the canoe thrashed again she he felt her hug her arms around his leg, desperately clinging on as she continued to cough. They were tossed around on the sea while Maui did his best to keep them from tipping over completely. He was aware of the ocean trying to keep them afloat, but it was as if something was fighting with it.

"Maui! We aren't going to make it"

"Yes, we are!" 

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the dark shape beside them. His eyes grew wide as to their right the water swelled up again, and something dark and foreboding rose from its depths. In defense the ocean rose up itself, and slammed a large wave into the mass, giving Maui and Moana the chance to take advantage of the waves created. Maui maneuvered them away from the danger, speeding towards the shores. He jumped into the damp sand and pulled the canoe far onto the beach with Moana still aboard. She shivered violently in the cold rain and he threw his hair back, clearing the dark locks from his face. 

"Come on!" he grabbed her hand and led her through the trees to his fale. Once inside he hurried to securely tie the pola down, shutting out the rain and wind. He turned as Moana coughed again, and he could hear her teeth chattering. He didn’t have much wood left in the fale, but it would hopefully be enough to help to get her warm. She sat down near the fireplace as he quickly set to work. It wouldn't last long, he knew, but it would hopefully do something. She shivered again and he wondered if it had more to do with the cold or the brush with whatever it had been in the water. 

"You're going to break your teeth if they keep chattering like that." he said. Moana shivered violently again and he pulled her into him and hugged her closely, tucking her head under his chin. He ran a hand up and down her arm, hoping to transfer even the slightest bit of warmth into her skin. Overhead thunder cracked loudly once more and she jumped. He'd learned a while ago that while Moana was wildly brave, she was not exactly the biggest fan of storms; and this was certainly no ordinary storm. Using his hook to give him the extra reach he needed he snagged the corner of the fur blanket laying nearby where he had last dropped it and dragged it over, draping it over her shoulders.

"Thanks" she sniffled quietly. They sat together in silence for a moment while she continued to shiver.

“I’m sorry we fought.” she said as another shiver shook her violently.

“Me too, Curly.” He leaned back against the center support beam, continuing his hand's repeated path up and down her now covered arm. Wind and rain hammered through the trees and Maui began to worry that the wind would either tear the roof straight off or would send a tree crashing down on them. The walls around them shook violently as the wind wailed on them. Thunder crashed so loudly the ground shook, and lightning shone through the small slits of the polas. Moana cringed against him. 

>>>>>>>>>>>

The storm carried on into the middle of the night before it finally dwindled away. Moana had long since fallen asleep, curled up against Maui's chest. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as he looked at her; her shiny dark locks spilling out across his skin and covering her face. With a gentle hand he brushed her hair behind her ear, exposing her face to him. The back of his knuckles brushed softly against her cheek, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. He was in deep, and he knew it. Everything he had been running from, all that wasted time, had been for naught. He was hooked, irrecoverably. He tilted his head down into her hair, softly inhaling before placing a kiss at the crown of her head. He stayed there, just enjoying the moment, before slowly pulling back and leaning his head back against the beam. He stared at the ceiling above and shook his head.

_He was going to end up hurt...Never in a million years would she ever have him as anything more than a friend and he was a fool to think otherwise. Here he held this beautiful goddess in his arms, and he knew he could never hope for more. No matter how much he desperately hoped and desired otherwise, she would only ever have him as a friend. The short moment where he thought he had lost her shook him to his core._

_He came to a decision then. He would fight for her; he would try to prove to her his love. And if all she wanted him as was a friend, then that's what he would be for her, if it meant he could keep this strong, brave, captivating person in his life. He would be there for her, to support her and protect her, to guide her and be her friend. Consequences to his heart be damned; unrequited love was one of the worst ways to die. But for her he'd do it a thousand times over._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one is on the shorter side. But this felt like such a good place to cut it. 
> 
> Thank you again for your wonderful kudos and comments :) I hope you're all still enjoying this story! 
> 
> There is SO much more to come! But I just HAD to get this chapter out!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long!!! Work got busy and time just got away from me. Thank you for all the kind comments! :)
> 
> I had to email this chapter to myself and post with my phone so I hope it comes out okay!

When morning came, the pair was fast asleep; Moana still nestled against Maui's chest. He was the first to wake and he smiled to himself to see her still there. In her sleep she had moved her arm and now her palm rested against his chest, sending a hot flame straight to his heart. He had to stop himself from taking her hand in his, from kissing her and holding her close. He hated to move from this idyllic scene but he had to make sure they would have a way home after the night's storm. For such a large and strong man he could be exceedingly gentle, and with great care he carefully picked her up and carried her to his fala where he lay her down. He tucked the blanket around her and watched as she snuggled into the furs beneath her. He smiled and untied the pola to the front door, leaving her to sleep. The sunlight was deceptively bright for the aftermath that lay around. Scattered branches and downed trees littered the ground. Maui thanked their lucky stars that none of the trees had come crashing down on them.

 

He quickly got to work, making a pile of the downed coconuts to bring back with them, and clearing the trees and branches away. He had just bent down to pick up another tree when Moana emerged from the fale.

"Did the boat survive?" she asked. Maui jumped at least a mile high and shrieked. He spun around, his arms wind milling. He hadn't heard her approaching, lost in his own mind.

"Mo-Mo-Moana!" he stuttered, trying to cover his all too obvious surprise. She smirked but didn't say anything; after last night she simply didn't have the heart to tease him first thing in the morning. The numb ache of the fight still lingered, creating an unease in the air, mixed with the uncertainty of where to go since their apology. Something had certainly shifted last night between them, like a door unlocked to open new horizons between them; but neither of them knew what to do with it.

 

"Did you sleep alright?" he asked. He pleaded with any deity above that she had no remembrance of being asleep on his chest, or that he had moved her to the sleeping mat. He prayed she would only think she had drifted off and he had shifted her there; it wouldn't have been the first time he'd have done that as all too often she fell asleep at the wheel, so to speak, and he'd had to move her away to get a restful sleep while he kept them on course .

 

"Yeah.. Yeah, just fine." She nodded, not quite meeting his eye, and rubbed uncomfortably at her wrist. He hadn't noticed it in the dim lighting of the fale, but now in the sunlight it was clear as day; there was a dark bruise encircling her right wrist, a dark purple rope bright against her cocoa skin.

 

He grimaced and stepped forward, reaching out his hand to her. After a brief moment's hesitation she met his hand, allowing him to inspect her wrist. He tenderly turned her wrist and prodded the bruise, watching as she tried to hide a wince. Whatever it was had had a very good grip on her, evident by the dark red circles left behind by what could only be tentacles.

 

"What was that thing?" she asked. When she went under it had been impossible to see anything through the dark swirling chaos that had surrounded her. When she had first been grabbed she had thought it had been Maui coming to her rescue, until she realized she was being pulled down into the depths by what was most definitely not a hand.

 

"Hard to say. I couldn't see it. Whatever it was, it was huge."

 

"Do you think it's gone now?" she asked, the fear evident in her voice. He had released her hand and she traced her fingers over the dark marks that had been left behind from her watery encounter. He sighed and shrugged.

 

"I sure hope so."

 

Together they took the path that led to the beach, both wildly hoping the canoe was fine. Moana let out an anguished cry as it came into view. A large tree had come crashing down on top of it; the sail was torn clean in two, the mast snapped. The side-rudder had been broken to splinters. She rushed to the canoe and fell to her knees at its side. Her gift from Te Fiti, their one way home, and her symbol of freedom, lay in ruins before her.

 

"How will we get home?" she wondered aloud, her grief overtaking her sense.

 

"I can fix it." Maui said quickly. She spun around and looked to him, her eyes questioning his sincerity.

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Please." he scoffed, tossing his hair over this shoulder.

 

"Who do you think helped to build the first canoes anyway? You think Fafa did it all alone?" he scoffed, referring to the legendary God who had been the first to build canoes for the mortals.

 

"This will be simple. Especially with all these trees down! You alright with hanging around here for a little while longer?" he asked her. Moana looked around and smirked to him. It was tranquil and private, and away from the decisions that awaited her at home.

 

"Yeah, I guess it's not too bad."

 

>>>>

 

Maui worked relentlessly for the entire week, collecting the best sized trees and then sculpting them to perfect size.

 

He wanted to make sure every detail was perfect.

 

After he'd laid out multiple lengths of wood to dry in the sun he'd been hard at work cleaning the fallen debris; which had then led to clearing out what had once been a garden. After that he worked tirelessly on rebuilding their vessel, not neglecting a single detail. For a while Moana busied herself with repairing the sail. She offered Maui assistance but he seemed intent on completing the canoe himself; he was sculpting and sanding each log to perfection. There had only been a couple of times where she was able to pull him away from his work to show her around the island or partake in a cooling swim; anything to get him to relax if only for a moment. 

 

She appreciated all he was doing, but he had been running himself ragged.

 

When she did pull him away, he always showed her some new corner of wonder; the hidden hot springs, the waterfall of fresh spring water with a small hidden cave behind it, the grove where butterflies and birds of all colors flitted from tree to tree and flower to flower. The place was an absolute paradise; it was almost easy to see why he hadn't left it in those two years.

>>>>>

He groaned and dropped to his knees on the sand before he turned over to fall onto his back with a thump. He sputtered air through his lips in exhaustion.

 

Moana moved to kneel behind him and lifted up his head to rest it on her lap. Maui sighed in content as she ran her fingers through his hair, her nails gently scratching his scalp. Every muscle in his body relaxed and he practically melted into the sand.

 

“Oh yea… that’s the ticket”

 

She smirked at his reaction. He was positively exhausted; he'd been working himself to the bone all week long. The canoe stood tall and finished, ready to go whenever they were. The repaired sail hung in a nearby tree, swaying slightly with the breeze. Maui released a sigh of contentment, his eyes closed, as she worked her fingers through his hair.

"So why did you never build a canoe on your old island?"

"Uhm hello? Did you see any trees around?" he waved his hands as he spoke.

"I guess not." she chuckled. They both remained quiet, the waves adding to the nightly music of nearby fauna.

"Thank you." she said, leaning forward slightly to look into his eyes. He blushed and averted his eyes

"It's the least I can do. I had to get you off this island somehow" he deflected. That was classic Maui, always using humor when things got too close, too personal. She sat back and smiled while she continued to run her fingers against his head. He had been working so hard lately, all for her. 

"You'd get sick of me soon enough anyway." she teased. 

"Well not everyone can put up with a scrappy, curly haired non-princess." 

"You know you love me." she teased smugly. He chuckled along before his smile faded away. 

"Yeah...yeah." he said softly. His hand reached up and gently grasped hers as it trailed down to his temple. He held her hand close against his face, nuzzling into her palm. Moana felt her heart fly into her throat, beating hard and fast. 

Maui steeled himself, gathering courage and waiting for her to pull away. When she didn't, he gulped nervously and moved to sit up on his knees facing her.

"Moana... I.." he sighed. Everything he had ever practiced in his head was gone now, along with any common sense or self-preservation he was sure.

He helped her to her feet and pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers as his hand rested at the side of her neck and his fingers curled around to the back of her head, curling into her soft dark locks. His free hand came to rest at her hip, covering the hook she'd had inked there. Her hands slowly came up, one wrapped gently around the wrist near her face and the other rested on his bicep. Time was lost as they stood there together, not speaking, sharing the air and breaths between them. Her heart was pounding loudly and she feared he would surely hear it. Little did she know his own heart was beating with likewise ferocity. Maui froze, stuck between contemplation and fear. 

Last time, he had chickened out... run away. Not this time.

He tilted his face in and placed a firm kiss on her lips; she was shocked at how soft and supple they were against her own.

He moved to step back and walk away, but was stopped as she pulled back gently on his arm. He turned his gaze back to her, the question in his eyes and she pulled him back into her, meeting his lips once more. He couldn't help the groan that escaped his throat as their lips met again and he kissed her for all he was worth. His massive hands tangled into her hair, cupping each side of her face as he pulled her closer, wanting to taste every inch of her. She met him with matching passion and moved her hands to his sides.

One of his hands glided down to her lower back and he guided her backwards until her back came to rest against a tree. He leaned down into the kiss, careful to not press her too forcefully into the bark for fear of scraping her skin. He shivered as her nails scratched against his ribs, creating goosebumps in their wake.

All too soon, the need for air became too great and they parted. Panting he rested his forehead against hers and a smile spread across his lips.

"Wow." He whispered, releasing a breathy chuckle. He pulled back to look at her and she broke into embarrassed giggles and blushed brightly; she quickly ducked her head into his chest, hiding her face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, his smile stretching wide across his face. 

"Took you long enough, you big dope." her muffled voice said. He threw his head back in laughter, his eyes brimming with the tears that had threatened to fall from joy. He buried his face in her hair, endeavoring to hide that detail from her. 

After several more heated kisses they returned to the fale, hand in hand, where they stopped in the doorway, each looking between the two falas on opposite sides. Maui gave a gentle pull in the direction towards his own fala, a single eyebrow raised. She smiled and nodded. Now that they had realized one another's feelings they felt free to finally express them, making up for lost time. They spent the night simply holding on to one another, sharing sweet kisses and whispered exchanges of devotion before finally drifting off to sleep.

As the morning came upon them they delayed their departure as long as they could. They spent a good portion of the early morning languidly lying around, simply wrapped up in one another's arms. When they finally left the comfort of their bed they dragged their feet in packing up the supplies they wanted to bring and closing the fale up securely so that it would be ready and waiting for them should they return. 

Moana stood, gazing at the fale, her mind miles away. He came up to stand behind her, placing his hands on her upper arms. He leaned down to place a soft kiss on her shoulder. 

"We could stay..." he whispered

"Maui," she sighed, "as tempting as that is, you know why we can't."

"I know, I know. Chief stuff. It would be nice though." 

They pushed onto the water with trepidation, senses alert. Even the ocean had risen up in it's crest, its head bobbing back and forth. It gave a nod of satisfaction and dipped back down into its surface. As they sailed, every now and then the crest would rise again, circling them as it looked over the surface of the water, ensuring they weren't being followed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Much later that night, Moana was dozing off against Maui's shoulder. He'd been trying for the better part of an hour to convince her to lay down and actually sleep while he steered them home.

"I'm just resting my eyes." she said, her voice thick with sleep.

"You are so stubborn." he chuckled. 

"That’s why you love me" she yawned as she spoke, no longer even able to keep her head up. He smirked and turned his head to place a kiss at the top of her head. 

There was a ghost of light that passed underneath them and in a flash a small elderly woman appeared at the end of the canoe, cane in hand as she smiled at the pair.

"Gramma!" Moana was on her feet and rushed to the end of the canoe, colliding into a tight hug with the glowing woman at the end.

"My Moana" Tala said affectionately, running a hand down Moana's hair. 

"You're a long way from the reef again." she smirked to her granddaughter, and Maui noticed the stark similarities. 

"And you have a friend." her bright eyes flicked to Maui and he straightened up, unsure of whether to stand or stay or whether he should speak at all.

"Gramma, this is Maui." she turned and gestured to the large man. He gulped nervously, his face paling at the ethereal lady in front of him. Moana had told him many stories of Tala, but never in a million years did he ever think he would actually meet her, after all she was dead... right?

"Well I won't bite!" she cackled.

He slowly stepped forward, bending down on a knee in respect. Tala looked him over in contemplation, the silence stretching for what seemed like hours. She leaned over in a playful sort of whisper as she looked at her granddaughter. 

"You've done well my child! He's quite a looker!" 

Maui choked, his face darkening in a blush 

"Now for you, young man."

"Young? All due respect ma'am--" he stood up, cocking a hip as he tilted his head.

"I know who you are, Maui the demigod. I heard tales of you since I was no taller than a morning flower. You may be centuries old in years, but in mind and spirit... and impressive physique... you're barely older than my granddaughter. And don't interrupt your elders." she tugged on his ear. Well, he could certainly see where Moana got her spunk... and this particular move from. Her whisper was low as she pulled him down to her face level.

“If you hurt my granddaughter you will face more fury than that of ten Te Ka’s.” she gave his ear another tug and released him before breaking out into a chuckle. 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>

They had a day of travel left when the mysterious beast made its appearance again. Maui had felt uneasy all day, constantly looking over his shoulder. The ocean seemed just as concerned; it constantly circled them, on high alert. The first shade passed under the water only a few feet away. 

"Head home." Maui said tensely, hand gripping his hook.

"And where are you going to go?" she asked, instantly to her feet. 

"Someone needs to warn the other islands. With the wind on my side I can get there the fastest." he turned to her then, his face grim. 

"Go, and let them know what's going on. I'll be there soon."

"But Maui-" she was cut off as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the back of her head, guiding her forwards so that he could place a kiss onto her forehead.

"Head home. I'll be there soon." he turned and without another word turned into a giant hawk and took to the skies. The ocean seemed to want to get her out of there as quickly as it could and gave the canoe a great shove, rushing her towards the shores of Montunui.

______

Once Moana reached home she was greeted with the sight of several of the village men preparing the fishing boats to go out on an excursion. She jumped to the sand and ran to them, shouting for them to stop. Her shouts had gathered quite a crowd and soon everyone was surrounding her with dozens of questions. 

"What’s wrong?"  
"Where's Maui?"  
"What's going on?"

"Let her speak." Wakaroa stepped forward and chastised the group firmly. Moana smiled to him in thanks and took a breath to calm herself when a shadow passed overhead. She heard a great hawk cry and turned in time to see Maui land on the beach in a flash of light. He collapsed onto his knees, his hands propping himself up from face planting into the sand. Moana dropped to her knees beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He panted heavily, his shoulders heaving with every breath. He had flown hard and fast to warn the other islands and had utterly exhausted himself. He turned his gaze to Moana and winked, before falling onto his side. Two of the larger men who had been working on preparing their fishing boat ran over and bent down to help Maui to his feet, slinging his arms over their shoulders. Maui’s knees threatened to buckle again and they adjusted their hold on him, struggling to keep the hulking man from falling again. Moana hurriedly explained to those who had come to the beach what had occurred out on the water; the storm and the unknown creature, how they had seen it again and that Maui had rushed to the other islands to warn them. 

"What are we going to do?!" one of the village women fretted. 

"We'll figure this out, we always do. But for now..." Moana trailed off as she looked over to the sea sadly. 

"For now it's for the best if we don't travel out past the reef." her decision was met with consternation. The crowed muttered among themselves, some in obvious support and others very much opposed.

"So once more, we are stuck to the land, fearing some unknown threat! I say we go out there and kill it!" Rangi growled; several of the other men cheered in response, all too ready to pick up their spears and sally forth. 

"No! This thing can't be taken down that easily. We don't even know what it is."

"So you want us to stay here?! Forever?" he challenged

"No, not forever. Just until we can figure out what it is." Moana responded.

"And how long will that take?"

"I don’t know."

"There seems to be an awful lot you don't know." Rangi said coolly.

"I'm the Chief and I am telling you to stay here" she said sternly. Rangi took a step forward but was halted as Wakaroa placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Cool it Rangi. Let it go." he said quietly. Rangi sneered and brushed Wakaroa's hand off of him.

"It's no surprise that you stand up for her."

"Meaning what?"

"Exactly what I said. The chief's little lap dog would walk off a cliff if she ordered him to." he stated. Wakaroa looked at him icily. 

"That's enough Rangi." Tui spoke up, growing irritated with the boy. He rarely stepped in on Moana's behalf now that she had fully taken over her role. But she was still his daughter, and enough was enough.

"I won't risk our livelihood because our chief is too afraid." Rangi glared at her. A low growl rumbled in the back of Maui’s throat, and had he had the strength he would have put an end to this punk already.

"And I won’t risk our people because you're a little boy trying to play hero!" she seethed. 

"Better a little boy trying, than a clueless little girl pretending she has any idea what she is doing. When we die, it will all be on your shoulders"

The slap rang out clear and seemed to echo over the resulting silence, serving to punctuate just how quiet it had become. Rangi slowly turned his face back to her, smirking as he wiped the blood from his lip and observed it on his fingers. He chuckled in cold amusement and turned his glance back to Moana, a nasty smirk stretching his bleeding lip further. 

“Shame you don’t have that same fighting spirit about everything. We could have had a real fun time.” Moana was ready to launch on him again but Wakaroa and Makoa got there first and firmly threw their arms under each of Rangi’s and dragged him away by force.

>>>>>>>>

"I never should have slapped him." Moana said, pacing back and forth furiously across the floor of her fale. She'd let her temper get the best of her.

"The little punk was asking for it." Maui said. 

"Still, I'm the Chief. I'm supposed to be fair and just... I'm not supposed to go around slapping people!"

"So you fairly served some justice to his face." he said. She merely shot an unamused look in his direction and continued her pacing. 

"Will you sit down before you wear a hole in the floor?" 

She sighed and sat down at his side, leaning into him. 

"Ya know, it was nice for once to not be on the receiving end of one of those."

"Don't push your luck" she smirked, nudging him. He traced his fingers along her jaw and stopped at her chin, bringing her up into a kiss. 

"Moana?" the voice came from outside. Moana shot away from him and to her feet, awkwardly straightening out her hair and skirt just in time for Sina to appear at the door. An all too knowing smirk stretched across her face as she regarded the pair. 

"Oh relax, it's just me." she whispered conspiratorially.

"Although you might want to tell your father sooner rather than later." At that Moana and Maui looked to one another; so far they had thought they hadn't been found out. Not that they intended to keep things a secret, but compared to everything else, telling everyone about their relationship wasn't very high on the priority list. 

"I just wanted to check on you... no one blames you, ya know. Rangi was out of line."

"I still shouldn't have hit him." Moana sighed and returned to her seat next to Maui. Sina smirked and sat across from the pair. 

"Yes, you should have." she chuckled "You're so much like your father." 

Sina watched as the pair shared a confused glance with one another and she elaborated.

"He punched someone right in the middle of a meeting once."

"Dad?!" 

"That's right. The man challenged your father; said he didn't know how to lead... and eventually his patience wore thin."

"Wow.."

"Suddenly I’m not so sure about telling your father" Maui said 

"You'll be fine!" Sina laughed "He'll be tickled pink honestly."

"You say that now; it'll be a different story when it comes to yours truly asking him for his daughter's hand in marriage." Maui chuckled. It came out so easily that it maybe should have phased him more than it did. It did, however, catch Moana greatly off guard, and she choked on the water she had started to drink as he spoke. 

Much later that night Moana and Maui had tucked in for bed; Maui lay on his back with an arm wrapped around Moana as she curled into his side, her arm draped over his front, fingers toying with the teeth he wore around his neck. They had been sitting in a comfortable silence for quite a while when she spoke.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"About what?"

"You know... asking my dad for my hand in marriage?" she asked sheepishly. 

"Well... yeah" he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. This was not the conversation he was expecting to have tonight. And not like this. 

"Of course I did. I mean.. that is.. if you did want to? I'm not asking right now, of course, it's so soon." he chuckled 

"But yeah... you know.. I wouldn't mind be married to you. Would you mind being married to me?" he teased. 

"Not at all." Moana smiled in the darkness of night, burying her face into the side of his neck while she smiled.

"Well then...that settles that." Maui said, holding her tighter.


End file.
